Soaring too close to the Sun
by Foulds
Summary: Long before Sturm's first invasion, was Sensei the greatest CO who ever lived? What was the legacy of Eagle's father? And what happened to Sturm's forgotten son? The full Advance Wars history. Chapter 14, Phoenix faces Black Hole's most dangerous troops..
1. A New Mission

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Dear all, finally, with exams over, I have got round to writing this story. I know the whole point is that it is an original character fic, but he'll be along shortly, I promise. The main problem with the prequel is the ages – Nintendo never bothered revealing which characters are older than others, so I hope you don't mind any presumptions I've been forced to make. Also, there is, as with all prequels, the old question, why did nobody ever bother mentioning all this again? Hopefully, if you just suspend disbelief a little, nothing here should be too unbelievable. Anyway, please do ensure that you review this first chapter, as first impressions are very important; is this worth continuing, or should I restart it? Anyway, read, enjoy and review, Foulds

It was night. The last glimmer of light had faded from the western skies and thickest night concealed her starry countenance with a veil of clouds, only the moon sometimes giving a grudging light to the black land, in every sense of the word.

This was the Black Hole continent, far to the north of the four islands that would one day have to face the brunt of Sturm's assault, a vast landmass that nobody knew much about for certain. The country, still inhabited largely by Black Hole citizens, before the clone armies were created with sickening efficiency, giving no thought to what might be right or wrong, long before Hawke would come into existence, lay silently in sleep, innocent of the blood that Sturm's bitter and mad desire for vengeance would bring on all of their hands.

Far to the south of the country, a dull roar cut through the darkness as a Black Hole T-copter drifted slowly to the north. The T-copter was full of men, all of them silent. Six men, dressed all in black, obviously, and well armed, presumably Black Hole infantry, sat without a word. All of them were young, and showed their faces to the world. With them was a slightly older man, a scientist from the looks of him, wearing a lab coat with a pair of glasses that had been broken and tied back together many times. He seemed more nervous than the others, his head flicking up and around at the slightest jolt or change in direction, which was very often since there was a slight headwind.

The pilot, himself dressed in an unadorned black uniform, reached forwards and pressed a button, before speaking into a radio transceiver,

"Laboratory GT-21, we will shortly be entering your radar range. Requesting permission to land as scheduled"

A crackling voice came in return over the old fashioned radio,

"Permission granted to land as arranged; we'll guide you down. The head of operations will come and meet you at the landing pad to show you in"

Shortly after the transmission ended, a bright circle of lights shone out from the ground some way in front of them, clearly showing them where to set down. The T-copter soared forwards and elegantly descended. The scientist looked out of the window as they made the final descent to the ground.

The laboratory wasn't a particularly imposing building, possessing only one floor. The scientist guessed that the majority of the complex must be underground, in order to keep the structure low-key and thus hard to detect and, indeed, attack. Sturm had personally ordered this lab to be constructed, and, so it was said, he was the one that had ensured that security was quite tight, despite the fact that the entire south coast was largely undefended, a policy that had become controversial as rumours swept the Black Hole people that four countries were all growing stronger far to the south. A tall security wall, crowned with barbed wire, encircled the entire area and watch towers lined the perimeter.

As the helicopter's blades slowed and the night became silent once more, the five soldiers leapt from the T-copter and lined up by the door of the transport craft. The scientist, a thirty-five year old man with tousled brown hair and a jittery disposition, looked down and contemplated the gap from where he was to the ground. After some time he climbed down somewhat awkwardly and stumbled forwards as the soldiers, gazing forwards into middle distance, saluted. The poor man was saved from his indecision over whether to salute back or not by the approach or a slightly older, yet equally gawky scientist, himself possessing both the same style of starched lab coat and a similar disregard for the state of his hair. The second scientist came forwards quickly, bouncing as he walked, and yelled from the far side of the area,

"Ah wonderful! It's just wonderful to have you here! I must say, Lord Sturm must be very pleased with the preliminary results for all of this! And extra security forces as well, hmm, six of you eh? Ah well, unconventional, but I guess it doesn't matter. Well, I, I'm just so proud, and I just know that I'm getting a promotion after this, maybe to one of the big city research labs! And of course," continued the overexcited researcher, having now reached the bemused scientist who had just arrived, shaking his hand with great gusto, "with you here the project will no doubt be able to produce some solid test results within months! Oh, Dr Bremner, it is such an honour to finally meet you, I have to tell you, you are an inspiration to me! My… you don't look like what I thought you would… I could have sworn you had a beard at the last…"

The scientist wasn't allowed to finish. There was a dull thud as the butt of a rifle hit the back of his neck, as one of the Black Hole soldiers had moved round to the back of him while he was babbling. He fell to the ground unceremoniously, with only a quiet choking sound and the knock as his unconscious body hit the concrete ground mixed with the snap from his glasses shattering into tiny shards of glass interrupting the silent night.

The soldiers rushed into activity. Four men ran forwards towards the complex while another put an arm around the pale and shaking scientist they had brought with them and guided him after the others and the final man threw the limp body of the researcher over his shoulder and carried him after the others.

The men all rushed to the left of the building and ran down the side of it, which was pitch black. They reconvened in the darkness and two of the men turned on high power torches and scanned the wall. Settling the beams of light on a metal box that was set into the edge of the structure, one of the men, clearly the commander brusquely gave orders,

"You four, cut the power to the whole building, and make sure you leave the system completely inoperable and impossible to repair; we don't want to get surprised in there. Even if they get auxiliary power on, they won't be able to send a distress call without the main power supply" the men ran off and, opening the heavy metal hatch, began to deal with their commander's request, "Let's take a look at this chap" he added to the remaining man.

The soldier checked the scientist's pulse and nodded, before pulling his backpack off and removing rope and tape, which he proceeded to use to tie up and gag the man. Their commander sighed.

The leader of this mission was a handsome man, only about twenty five years old, significantly younger than some of the men that he was commanding. He had a calm expression etched onto his pristine face, a thin mouth that curved unconsciously into a smile, a fine nose, deep blue eyes that he often kept firmly trained on the ground owing to a slightly shy character and long flowing blonde hair that fell to just above his shoulders.

He had a penchant for infantry operations, and a reputation for being a great leader, unpolished, maybe, but still formidable. He had a gift, he supposed. A gift that could benefit his country. Who was he not to use it? This life was winning him fame and respect. He had long since tried to resolve irresolvable moral dilemmas about the right of life versus the need to do one's duty for one's country. His philosophy was now firmly to deal with each problem as it arose. Surely something good had to come out of war if there was such great weight put on it by so many people…

The man was no member of Black Hole, obviously. He was one of the rising stars of one of the south's rising powers. He was only a private, but he still enjoyed very high regard from his superiors. He was young, but many already whispered his name and spoke of great things to come.

The most promising commander of Yellow Comet.

The young military prodigy.

Sensei.

Such flattering predictions meant little to him now. Sensei wasn't comfortable with this mission. Breaking into Black Hole didn't sit well with him. As his men continued their duties, there was a moment of quiet and peace, which almost certainly meant, in Sensei's limited experience at least, that there was a nasty struggle just around the corner. Not that Sensei had ever lost a battle, but that fact didn't justify a reckless charge on a potentially powerful adversary that had, in all fairness to the mysterious nation, never initiated any military action against any of the southern countries. Young Sensei thought back to how all of this had started…


	2. A Dark Conspiracy

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Dear all, thanks for reviewing the first chapter, and the result of positive feedback is that more will now be written! I'm glad that the title is popular, and indeed, it is based upon mythology, as I am myself a classicist by trade. Perhaps I should just point out some presumptions made in this time zone; the following units have not been invented yet – Medium Tanks, Neotanks, Rockets, Anti Airs, Missiles, Fighters, Bombers, Battleships, Cruisers and Submarines. Landers, tanks, B-copters and artillery are all very rare. Recons, APCs and T-copters are all newly invented but quite common. Thus there is far more emphasis on infantry warfare, with a greater diversity of infantry types than is present in the games. Perhaps the offensives of WW1 would give you an idea of what battles are like at this stage.

Also, as a small note, I am aware that in the first game the Black Hole base was in the south west, but there are three things about that, firstly, I don't believe that that tiny island was the entire Black Hole nation, because if it was, where did Sturm get the second army from? Secondly, it does seem to be generally assumed that Black Hole is the northern power in many existing fics. Thirdly, this story is set in the same set of countries as Hawke's Vengeance, in which I have four unconnected islands and Black Hole far to the north, so sorry, but that's the way I think it is.

Oh, and [blush] I don't own any AW characters, should have mentioned that earlier…

Anyway, back to the story; read, enjoy, review! Cheers, Foulds

The matter had started a few weeks ago. Sensei had received an open invitation from some high up men in Green Earth to come and hear a proposal. They had unashamedly demanded that he keep his silence about the matter. They had also chosen to remain anonymous.

Sensei had been honoured. These were young days for Yellow Comet. Commanders and politicians could survive or their official incomes, but privates and generals were forced to augment their wages somehow. Army life was not full time. Anybody under the rank of Commander could disappear for days at a time without explanation or suspicion. It was expected.

Most men in Sensei's position were fairly corrupt; a situation that was fairly accepted as it kept the army well-staffed at little cost.

Men with more of a reputation would personally obtain a number of troops with private funds and use them in mercenary work, largely from abroad, recouping their losses from the large amounts that foreigners were willing to pay for an effective military force.

Sensei saw being contacted by these men, Green Earth citizens presumably since they asked to meet him in Green Earth's capital city, as a sign that he was rising not just in his rank, which was fairly inconsequential really, but in other people's esteem as well, which was far more lucrative and important in real terms. For young recruits, the army was a career and a means to an end. Mercenary work was the future, for now at least. If one could rise to a senior position, then one could abandon dangerous hired gun work, but not yet.

He had left immediately to hear what they had to say, dressed in standard Yellow Comet military dress, travelling on a public transport craft to the shores of Green Earth and then taking a bus to the capital itself; Sensei did not hold enough sway with Yellow Comet to fly off in one of the brand new Yellow Comet T-copters.

He had been amazed at Green Earth. Compared to Yellow Comet's somewhat backward societies, the built-up brick towns, though perhaps slightly oppressive and aesthetically grim, were impressive. People walked through the streets smiling, hopeful. Posters covered with Green Earth insignia lined many walls, announcing optimistic messages about the glorious future. New buildings were being constructed everywhere. Notices in many windows announced new employment opportunities. People seemed healthy and well dressed; a sign of a healthy society.

He followed directions that had been given to him in the letter that he had received, arriving, after a long stroll through the bustling metropolis, at a large and ornately decorated structure, marble facing and detailed white stone statues lining an expansive entrance hall into what seemed to be a hotel. He pushed open a large glass double door and marvelled at the opulence of the reception area. The ceiling was far above him, as many balconies lined the high room, and a huge chandelier hung down, sending rays of dancing light around the room. The huge glass wall at the far end of the room looked out onto gardens where many people were picnicking. A small indent in the floor was home to a shallow pool of crystal clear water and a fountain – a white figure of a woman, pouring water from a jug – sent out ripples through the basin of water.

Sensei walked over to a woman in a smart dark green suit, who recoiled in shock rather than fright at his uniform, and he asked where he might find two gentlemen. He didn't need to go on as the woman pointed over at a door in the wall. He was clearly expected. Sensei walked over and was confronted by a tall man with broad shoulders and an aggressive stance who was holding a rifle. Unconcerned by the intimidating sight, he simply said,

"I believe that two men are looking for Sensei"

"How do I know who you are?" returned the man with a sneer obvious in his gruff voice. Sensei's response was simple. His left arm, previously hanging loosely at his side, flew up as Sensei's side-stepped to the left of the man, firmly grasping the rifle and pulling it from his hands. His right arm moved effortlessly up during this motion and seized the butt of the rifle, wrenching it towards him. Within a fraction of a second, before the bodyguard even knew what was happening, his own rifle was pressed against his chest as he blinked and turned towards Sensei in confusion. Nothing was said as he ran out of the building. Sensei lay the rifle on the ground and pushed open the door.

The room before him was thin but stretched out into the distance. Sensei couldn't tell how long it was as the area was veiled in darkness, and even the dull light cast into the gloom from the foyer couldn't overcome the fact that curtains were drawn. Sensei stared into the room as a voice cut through the quiet,

"Close the door and sit down"

Sensei didn't really like not being in control, but he wasn't going to needlessly antagonise his potential employers when he had come all this way to be hired by them. He quietly pushed the door closed and sat down in the nearest chair, which he reached with some difficulty in the black. As soon as he sat down, a few dim blue lamps flicked on at the end of the room, revealing two silhouettes, but nothing more. One of the two shady figures said emotionlessly,

"Sensei. We have heard much about you. We are aware that you are a skilled infantry commander. We have need of your skills in a mission of some importance to us, and to the world"

"In my experience" returned Sensei quickly, "missions in benefit of the world aren't well sponsored"

"You need not worry about that. A private businessman with some involvement with the mission is quite keen to achieve his aims, and is also quite willing to pay for its success. He will happily pay 150,000g for your services, and to cover the costs of providing your own men, as, I believe, is standard policy in these matters"

Sensei was silent. 150,000g was a lot of money. Nonetheless, he had to insist upon a few conditions,

"That depends on what I'll be doing; money can't help dead men"

"You will of course have to earn your fee. Your mission will be to infiltrate a secret laboratory in Black Hole territory"

"Black Hole? That nation far to the north? Nobody knows anything about it… the mission is impossible"

"We have made provisions to ensure your chances are good. We have recreated a Black Hole T-copter which a ship got a picture of in the distance. We have also created mock-up Black Hole uniforms to allow you to get into the base. Arrangements have already been made for you. The laboratory will be expecting your arrival thanks to a false message that we sent them, telling them of a transfer of new security forces and a new doctor. All you need to do is provide men and do your job"

"Fine, assuming for a moment that I might consider taking this job, what's the plan after I arrive there?"

"Oh Sensei," said the man, chuckling under his breath, "that's your job, I do believe. We get you in, then you figure out the rest. As far as we're concerned, the complex is impenetrable, and that's why you're an infantry specialist and we're… we're not"

"Fine, then what do you want done?"

"Somehow, you must infiltrate the complex. We can provide you with maps of the outer area, but once you're inside then you're on your own. Once you've infiltrated the lab, you must find your way to the generators and lay explosives, which, positioned there at least, will destroy the complex"

"I don't mind working for an anonymous employer, but I want to know what I'm actually being sent in to achieve"

"That does not concern you. My associate, rest assured, has good intentions"

"I won't take this job without knowing what I'm doing"

"How about you don't ask questions and we make it 200,000g?"

"I'm not interested"

"250,000g"

"How about this? Seeing as how money is clearly so much more important to you than me, how about we make it just 100,000g and you give me a reason" said Sensei.

Money wasn't that important to him. 100,000g was more than enough, and he would probably donate much of it to the Yellow Comet Government anyway, keeping only as much as he would need for the immediate future. The important result was the boast that he had broken into Black Hole, since a respected reputation was a powerful ally. If he needed money again in the future, then he could get that from another mission.

"Hmm…" the hidden man sighed, "very well, it matters little, I suppose. Black Hole has been performing early experiments into genetics, tampering with the structures that make up human life itself. We know this from intercepted transmissions. It would seem that they seek to create something specific, but we don't know what. Frankly, we find the experiments both morally reprehensible and potentially very dangerous to future generations. Thus, we want them wiped out"

"Very well, when is all this taking place?"

"Return here in two weeks with five infantrymen of your choice, but for now, take this" said the man, sliding a folder full of maps and information down the smooth mahogany table that stretched through the room.

"I'll need payment now to obtain the troops"

"Half now, and the other half will be brought to you when it's done. The woman outside will provide you with a briefcase containing the necessary funds"

"Excellent, I will see you here in two weeks"

"There is another small thing…"

"What?"

"We need you to take a scientist with you, just to ensure that things are as we believe. It would be unfortunate if we destroyed the lab while another copy of the information exists. Thus, we want a scientist familiar with Black Hole's operating system to go in and ensure that no copies are present elsewhere. Anyway, he is part of your cover story; you will be extra security escorting Dr Bremner, a famous Black Hole researcher in this field"

"If he gets underfoot, we will shoot him"

"Just as long as the lab is destroyed"

With that, Sensei got up and left, returning to Yellow Comet to purchase the services of skilled soldiers. Little did he suspect the conversation that occurred just after he had left. The two men turned to each other,

"Are you sure that he can handle this task?"

"He has surprising skill. Maybe one day he will rise to something. I can certainly feel confident that he will become a general at some point"

"We could send a more experienced leader in. With the resources at our disposal we could hire any sub commander in Yellow Comet"

"No. Questions would be asked if high ranking officials go missing on mysterious missions. We must keep this affair quiet, and a low ranking grunt like him, however skilled he is, won't make a fuss as long as we throw enough money at him"

"Why not just send in Green Earth troops? I'm not confident in the skills of those uncivilised Yellow Comet barbarians…"

"If the Green Earth politicians realise what we're planning then we are finished. Anyway, Sturm is a fearsome adversary, and if you want to play with fire, it's better to get somebody else to do it for you. If Sensei gets caught, they'll all be executed, and Sturm will, in the worst case scenario, invade Yellow Comet. The attack can't be traced to us, and that's the important thing"

"Hmm, he certainly accepted your little story without question. Just as long as your man can give a convincing performance as the harmless clumsy scientist to keep them unquestioning, then we should be fine"

"Excellent. We are one step closer"

The two men stood up and silently left through a door concealed in the wall.


	3. Shadows and Darkness

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Hey all, yes, I know I promised to update MORE quickly from now on, but I've been busy, so sorry, but I will do more from this point onwards. Hawke's Vengeance is also approaching the next chapter, so that'll be up soon. The pause has in fact been used productively to think up and write a suitable ending for Hawke's Vengeance (though it isn't coming just yet) and a more detailed plan for this, so be happy!

By the way, has anyone out there seen the video to Basement Jaxx's Cish Cash? Is it just me or is that what Jess does during her days off?

Anyway, read, enjoy and, above all, REVIEW! Cheers in advance, Foulds

Far behind the Black Hole lines, Sensei watched his troops at work in the shadows of the laboratory, the place where Black Hole sought to create their ungodly entities, labours that would one day bring each country to the brink of bitter defeat.

With a final blow and a shower of sparks, which briefly illuminated the young commander's handsome features, the complex died and fell into total darkness, the omnipresent dull drone of whirring machinery fading away. Without a pause, the men sprinted back to the front of the building and the unit of infantry, powerful torches in hand, surrounded the entrance. The decorative glass door was still ajar from the scientist who had come to meet them. Sensei took this opportunity to address his men,

"We have to act quickly. For now, the alarms and communications will be completely inoperable. Most of the men stationed at this base will also be asleep, so stay silent if you can, and use throwing knives instead of rifles if at all possible. Remember, we're in their uniform, so if we're caught, just act natural and hope. Nonetheless, we can't just walk in. The uniforms are a backup plan. Now, it's only a matter of time until they can activate auxiliary generators, but even then they'll lack the power to call for help, but an alarm could make matters more difficult"

Shortly afterwards the door was pushed open and the men drew their weapons in preparation. Sensei crept through the gap first, leading his men from the front as always. The hallways were pitch black bar the dazzling beams of light that searched the corridors. The passages seemed fairly well cared for, with carpeted floors and painted walls and ceilings. Photos in dark wooden frames lined the walls, all showing groups of scientists, always smiling in small groups and standing in a laboratory. The group moved slowly, as even their soft footsteps seemed to echo through the silent hallways, and every man was on edge.

Sliding open a patterned wooden doorway, they ran through into a spartan stairwell, with dingy metal walls and rusty steps that creaked as the group ran down to the bottom floor, torches sending powerful searching light into every corner of the area. Despite Sensei's instructions, every man had their rifle raised and clenched tightly. They regrouped at the bottom, faced with another wooden door with elaborate engraving.

Sensei raised his hand to signify that they should remain silent and still and then he slowly lowered himself to the ground in a smooth and well practised single silent movement. He pressed his ear to the gap between the door and the ground and listened intently, hearing the faint whisper of a distant conversation,

"…in this darkness. How the hell are we going to get up to the main generator? Without power the security doors have locked down and the lift isn't working. Without either, there's no way to get up to the generator"

"They just said that the backup power will be on in minutes. When that's happened, we'll check that everyone's where they should be. As soon as that's done, we can get one of the engineers to open up the security doors"

"What about the guys who are off duty and the scientists?"

"Ah, let them sleep. No need for them to know what's happened is there?"

"What's caused this?"

"That damn thing probably just overheated again! And they told us that they'd fixed it!"

"And what about the labs? If the power's out then the sensors and cameras are off"

"You worry too much. There's a guard posted outside every entrance to the security level 1 areas"

"What's in there anyway?"

"Just don't ask and you'll do fine here. Now, we should go…"

The conversation abruptly ended there. They'd probably shut a door behind them, Sensei reasoned. He whispered to his men,

"They're not waking the other guards, so they'll lack numbers. We've got to access the labs so that our VIP here" he muttered, pointing at the shaking scientist, "can be certain that we're doing our job, then we get to the main generator and lay the explosives. It sounds like the generator is on one of the upper floors, presumably on the far side of the wall to the fuse box we took out. This building was designed to withstand a full bombardment, so we can't go through the wall. I don't know how we can get there yet, but we'll deal with that problem when we get to it. We can lay the explosives and leave as soon as they activate the security doors for us. If they don't get the auxiliary power on then we're just have to find some other way out. The blast will weaken the structure, causing the ground floor to collapse and crush the basement laboratories. Let's go"

With that, Sensei pressed his ear against the door to check for footsteps and then, satisfied that the base was quiet, crept through the door, leading his men slowly through the corridors. The walls were unadorned dull metal. The floor was as well, but it was also covered by a layer of cheap plastic material. Huge light fittings lined the tops of the walls, and would have normally kept the passages brightly lit at all times, but now Sensei and his men moved stealthily through the gloom, trying to find their way into the labs.

Elsewhere, unknown to Sensei, matters were being moved forwards without his intervention. The two men who Sensei had overheard had not closed a door behind them. They lay where they had been standing, blood spreading around them, a single wound present in the chests of both men.

Elsewhere, another man stalked the black corridors with subterfuge on his mind. All any man saw was black cloth swirling. Then death came, a wound through the heart. A black robe drifted through the corridors, long draping folds of dark fabric hiding the hands and face of the assailant.

The creature moved silently and killed silently, driven by unknown intentions.

Meanwhile, Sensei and his men had come across some opposition. Sensei peered around a corner to see a single man in a chair, faintly visible in the dull light of a candle that the man had lit. He was leaning back in his chair, buried in sleep, his back to the young commander.

Sensei tiptoed forwards, his men staying back. As he came up to the man in the chair, he calmly reached for his combat knife. As he began to draw it, he hesitated and let it slide back into his belt. Instead, he pulled back his right arm and struck the man across the back of the neck. He silently slumped forwards onto the floor, out cold.

Sensei thought about his actions. When the complex was destroyed, the man would die anyway. Nonetheless, he hated killing people personally. Rising up through the ranks in training was one thing, and shooting was rather impersonal, but putting a knife through someone's neck was deeply unpleasant. The act forced you to confront what you were; a murderer. But everyone was a murderer in the military. It wasn't an excuse, but it was a thought that kept Sensei sane. He was just one of them. One of the crowd. Everyone else was doing it.

Sensei looked left. As the two Black Hole men had said, one guard for every entrance to the labs. There was a door here that looked very strong. A keypad sat idly at the side of it. Sensei made a quiet whistle, signalling the men to come forwards. He pulled on the thick metal door handle and the door swung open gradually, unlocked by the mechanism lacking power.

The group rushed through the door and pushed it shut behind them. Sensei pushed his way through his troops and seized the young scientist with them,

"What do you need now?" he hissed at the terrified researcher.

"Any terminal in this area will do" he eventually said through some stuttering.

Sensei and his men proceeded into the nearest laboratory and settled down next to a lifeless computer. One of the men pulled a small portable generator from his backpack and began to wire it to the monitor.

As this was happening, just outside the door they had entered through, it transpired that Sensei's merciful sentiment had been misplaced. Had Sensei looked more closely, the man who he thought he had knocked unconscious lay stiff and cold. His eyes were wild open, terror glazed over them, a terrifying foe the last thing he saw. The silence was interrupted by a soft echoing drip, as blood seeped through his clothes and fell to the ground, bleeding from the precise wound to the very centre of his chest.

Sensei's men lined the walls of the area, each with a rifle raised, in the perfect formation to fire on any door into the lab. Sensei stood behind the scientist, intermittently watching over his shoulder and around the room. The light from the screen subtly illuminated the laboratory. There were microscopes and inactive terminals everywhere. Metal tanks were fixed to the cold steel walls. Glass beakers containing dark liquids covered work surfaces. Thin glass slides filled glass-faced cabinets. Wooden benches with sinks and taps surrounded the empty central area. The whole lab had a pervading and deeply unpleasant smell; a sulphurous odour mixed with a strong disinfectant. The ceiling was covered with brown marks and abrasions.

Sensei turned back to the computer screen. Most of the screen was filled with tiny green numbers that appeared and flew to the bottom of the otherwise black screen in a moment. A thin strip on the right of the screen was covered with larger pairs of letters, which appeared and disappeared far too fast to read.

The scientist kept turning around or peering over his shoulder at Sensei, before eventually stammering,

"I think I hear something… out there… a person… walking"

"Wait here" said Sensei, stalking towards the entrance that the scientist indicated, followed by his men. They crept outside and spread out, looking for any enemies. The scientist watched them all leave, and then his awkward frown morphed into a knowing smile. He drew a tiny slip of black metal from his sleeve and slid it into the machine in front of him. He watched the screen with a slightly puzzled expression appearing as he did,

"These numbers…" he muttered, "…they make no sense. How could any organism possibly survive. These aren't even human… unless… wait a minute… this code is incomplete! Damn! Still, we must be content…"

A few keystrokes afterwards, the screen went blank momentarily, only for two words to appear,

"Download Complete"

The scientist snatched the disk out of the machine and concealed it back inside his sleeve, alongside two poison darts and a slender throwing knife. Having flicked off the portable generator, he composed his face back into a gawky and scared expression and awaited Sensei's return. The young commander came back through the door and approached the scientist who had a dark secret,

"There's nothing there. You're just being jumpy"

"This is the only copy of the information" replied the mysterious scientist with shadowy motives

"Excellent, let's go"

The seven men left the lab more quickly than they had arrived and paced swiftly through the black passageways, torches once again out. As they rushed around the corner, their greatest allies, the darkness and the cover it brought them, faded away as the lights flickered and then hummed into life. The auxiliary power was on.

Suddenly feeling vulnerable, just as a small creature panics when faced with dazzling lights, the men lost their nerve and, on Sensei's orders, ran back the way that they had come. As they turned into the main hallway, they saw what they had feared.

A Black Hole infantryman stood in front of the door that they had entered through. Hearing the noise, he spun and raised his rifle. Sensei froze. Firing back would alert the whole base. The man firing would do the same. Better to die in a fight, considered Sensei. As Sensei's hand flew to the holster by his side, the Black Hole soldier lowered his weapon. He was shaking and sweating,

"Dr Bremner! You're here!"

Sensei saw his chance and didn't hesitate for a moment,

"What's going on here? Where is Dr Bremner's escort! Where are your men!"

"Nobody's answering their radios, I don't know what's happening! I think there's someone else in here!"

"It's not safe here, we have to get Dr Bremner back outside. Are the lifts working now?"

"No, I don't understand it! The security hub is offline, and the security doors have all sealed themselves, and nobody's at their post! Only high ranking officers could know the codes to activate a lockdown sequence! It doesn't make any sense!"

"How can we get up to the ground?"

"The lift shaft has ladders for maintenance. You can prise open the doors and follow it up to the main generator. The security doors up there might have been opened by the technicians"

"Perfect…" muttered Sensei to himself, before turning back to the young Black Hole soldier, "Stay here and cover us; Dr Bremner may be what they're after"

The men forced open the doors easily and ascended the ladder quickly, the vertical shaft lit up by powerful beams of light. As Sensei climbed up behind his men and the scientist, he thought about what had been said…

Why had the security hub been offline? Why had men been absent from their positions? He laughed to himself – the first concern that there was a hostile and Black Hole's finest men fled in order to hide in a corner. It sounded like someone had tried to seal the intruders inside, but Black Hole's lockdown sequence had done nothing except keep most of their forces sealed away from the enemy. Maybe this country's fearsome reputation was misleading. This had been easy.

Sensei climbed out of the lift shaft into a plain room with concrete walls. Grubby pieces of heavy machinery lay scattered around. The men had already set up explosives around the generator when he arrived, and they were arming it quickly.

Sensei smiled. He compared the skill and efficiency of Yellow Comet's men with the cowardice and incompetence of Black Hole's. He walked over to an imposing metal door in the corner of the room. A tap of a button later and the door creaked open with a rush of air. Whoever he activated the lockdown of the building hadn't done a particularly good job. Sensei looked out and saw that it led into the front lobby that he had walked through before. The flimsy door that they had entered through swayed in a light breeze. The men would be ready to run and take off in minutes. He could hear the growing roar of the T-copter's blades already, so someone must have gone ahead to start it up. Sensei smiled again. Black Hole was as vulnerable as any other country. If anything, then it seemed weaker than the southern nations.

He smiled again. This had been easy.

But deep below Sensei, carnage reigned. In a brightly lit set of barracks, the battle was joined. Men leapt from their chairs and beds, and before the scream could flutter from their lips, the cold steel pierced their breast. The flash of metal tore their flesh and was withdrawn in a second. The black robe swirled through the room, the hooded figure silent, swift and merciless, the fine rapier emerging from the loose garment. Men came and fell, the walls and floor doused with streaks of blood, drawn by the pitiless foil.

As the final man succumbed to the inevitable impairment, the vicious assailant opened his robe and sheathed his sharp rapier, revealing his hand for a moment. His skin was fair and smooth, untainted by age. One would say that his hand betrayed innocence, but a smear of blood across his palm shattered the illusion. He strolled out of the room and stalked through the corridors, finishing off the wounded, with an almost gleeful spring in his step.

He walked through the lift doors and flew up the ladder, unimpaired by his attire, in possession of inhuman speed to match his power. He threw himself into the generator room, hearing the Yellow Comet T-copter fade away into the distance. He calmly strolled over to the explosives and seemed to contemplate them briefly. A second later, he set off at a run out of the security door. He disappeared into the shadows.

Some minutes later, the cruel hooded figure sat upon the summit of a hill, and he watched as the barely visible building was engulfed in flames and collapsed inwards. As the noise and light died, the young man turned south and spoke to the empty breezes,

"Congratulations Sensei"

As he spoke, he drew a radio from inside his black robe and spoke into it,

"Green Earth has finally taken possession of the Phoenix Project. Sensei made it hard for himself, but I was able to let him escape without suspicion. He was totally dependent on my assistance. The base has been destroyed. There are no witnesses. Yellow Comet suspects nothing, as I intended. I will proceed to the next stage now"

With no further explanation, awaiting no reply, the man concealed the radio again and walked back into the darkness of the forest.


	4. We All Walk Through Our Own Fires

Hey all, I'm back to writing more quickly now, so isn't that nice. Now, I'm sorry, but I really would like to ask nicely that if you are reading that you do review. I'll keep writing anyway, and I'm not asking for a full 'Genocideking' length chapter analysis (though that is bloody useful! Thank you a million times my friend) but a simple acknowledgement of reading and either enjoyment or criticism would be much appreciated, even if with only ten words.

Btw, Master of the Phoenix's constant requests for Hawke's vengeance to be sent to Nintendo got me thinking about multimedia AW, and then I got thinking about an AW film…! Wouldn't it be fantastic!?! Well, WOULDN'T IT??? As for some suggestions, Sean Bean as Grit, Brad Pitt as Max, Sandra Bullock as Sami, Jackie Chan as Kanbei, Peter Kay as Drake, Willow (from Buffy) as Jess, Cameron Diaz as Nell, Courtney Cox as Sonja, Johnny Vegas as Olaf, Sean Connery as Sensei, the Governor of California as Flak, and Alan Rickman as Hawke! Oh it would be wonderful…

Insanity not withstanding, I do hereupon both allow and encourage you to read, enjoy and REVIEW (especially comments on my new robed assailant, do you like him?)! Cheers in advance as always, Jon Foulds!

Far to the north, further than anyone could have imagined that the Black Hole nation stretched, stood the Black Hole citadel – the true citadel. This was not a place which, if captured, would force Black Hole to retreat or withdraw. This was the very centre of Sturm's power. This was the first place that the Black Hole people had seen when they had timidly crawled into the light from the dark depths of the earth. This was the very embodiment of Black Hole's providence.

Now a grey city stood on the site, that stretched from the mountains that covered the northern extremes of the Black Hole nation to far to the south, far over the horizon, a vast city of grey and black, huge concrete buildings, built to identical specifications in a rigid and regular system of blocks.

At the very northern tip of the this dismal and wretched place, built over the very caves that his ancestors had struggled out of, trembling at the sun, Lord Sturm had built his palace. It was a towering mass of turrets and high walls, as imposing to his own people as to any invader. From a single window and the balcony beyond it, Lord Sturm appeared to his people as their lord.

He was viewed with reverence, fear and awe, all of which came from his godlike image, an all-pervading bombardment of propaganda and the constant heavy presence of armed troops in public. The people of Black Hole were born, then they were indoctrinated, then they either slaved in factories, or helped to ensure that others slaved in factories if they were highborn or lucky, until they died. They did not expect, know about or hope for any other existence. That was just the way things were. A few of the luckiest were able to become scientists, but their field of study was always a project with military applications only.

As the rising sun cast a grudging light over the city from the eastern skies, another day began, just like any other day was or ever would be.

But deep within Sturm's palace, the black beating heart of the sinister nation, a twisted creature tossed fretfully, unwillingly gripped by sleep…

The man, completely carefree, ran through green open pastures, running for the sake of running and nothing more. He looked down at himself. His hands were pink and his skin was smooth. He was wearing soft silk clothing of many colours. Women's laughter sounded across the land. He smiled. His parents would be nearby, he just knew it.

The man stopped. He looked around. As he watched, the grass wilted and the trees burst into flames. As the skies turned red and the rivers seethed with blood, he looked up and fell back. The sun was growing, and burning everything. As he looked, he saw his own clothes burn, but he couldn't rip them off. The women's voices screamed and wailed. His own body was crushed by waves of heat and pain. They had done this! Why did they do this! He screamed for his parents, but only screams of pain answered him, his own voice lost in the roar of flames, his body fallen and crippled, unable to move, searing pain seizing every muscle, a scream from his lips that he couldn't even hear…

The man awoke, trying to scream, but only a dry wheeze emerged from his fragile lungs. Sturm took shallow breathes, swearing revenge. A thousand years had granted him the same nightmare every night, always in the morning, as if his body knew that the power that had crushed him, the sun's light, was rising once more and was taunting him with the vision and the memory.

It was so easy for the men of the southern nations to dismiss him as insane, even when they found out the truth, but they could never know his suffering. A thousand years wears down the mind. A body that outlasts the time assigned to it changes in ways normal men cannot understand. All that kept Sturm sane, if that word could still apply to him, and certainly all that kept him from descending into incoherent madness was the thought of revenge against those that had destroyed his body and his people.

Hope had long ago died in the man, but a bitter and illogical desperation remained. He turned his head downwards and recoiled in disgust at himself. A flash of red and black burnt flesh, congealed blood, lesions and gashes and short severed limbs sickened him. He tried to vomit, an action dictated by his mind, but his stomach had been dry and empty for centuries, his body fuelled by the suit he wore and nothing more.

Sturm looked around the comfortingly familiar room. While he was in here, the White Sun couldn't get him, he told himself. The walls, floor and ceiling were all made of dark grey stone. He lay in the very centre of it, inside a glass container, so that he could see the whole room at all times, in case a White Sun soldier tried to creep up on him.

Sturm slept by floating in a dark blue liquid. He couldn't sleep on a normal bed. The few nerves endings in his body that had not been burnt off tormented him too much to sleep if in contact with anything solid. The whole room had a blue tinge. Sturm didn't know or care what it was that let him survive in this room, but some chemical allowed him to survive independently.

Just above his head was a gentle buzzing. A pair of small turbines slowly rotated to keep the liquid moving. This wasn't a part of the science that kept Sturm alive. Sturm simply couldn't allow the liquid to remain still. If it was still then he could see his own reflection. He had not seen his face for centuries now, and he never wanted to. That was the one memory that his dreams didn't pollute. His face would be as it used to be, and nobody would ever argue. He had banned mirrors from the entire palace. Even the truth could not escape unscathed from Sturm's iron fist and delusional mind.

As he dared to look over his body again, doing all he could to ignore it, he saw the only face he detested more than his own. His suit was hung up against the wall. The black metal mask stared back at him, a twisted form that only loosely resembled a human face. Two eye holes gently glowed green. A piece of golden breathing apparatus and two pipes that fed chemicals and pure oxygen into Sturm's shrivelled lungs covered its neck and most of its face. A long black cape hung down from the mask, covering most of the metal suit. A hat rested on the suit's head. It was an old item of clothing. One from his old life. He always wore it over the suit.

Sturm closed his eyes. That was what he had become. He hated to see the suit as much as he detested himself. He hated everything about himself. He wanted to die. But revenge was more important than his own petty and cowardly desires, and if he didn't get revenge then nobody would.

He struggled and thrashed, pulling himself out of the tank and collapsing onto the cold hard floor. Dark smears of blood were left against the ground, but Sturm dragged himself onwards. His body had been incurably ravaged by age and injuries, so he cared little about damaging it further. He could have been helped by his servants, but he was determined that nobody would ever see his burnt and hideous form.

As he approached the wall, he lay still and closed his eyes. The suit quivered, trembled more violently and then jerked towards him, falling to the floor. A crippled body had left Sturm little recourse but to retreat into his own mind. His thoughts may have been fevered and insane, but his mind was powerful. The people of Black Hole all possessed weak extrasensory abilities that leant them no new skills. Sturm's extended time had let him hone his powers, though nobody knew exactly what they were. The only one he ever manifested openly was telekinesis – the ability to influence the outside world through thought. This was the skill that leant him the ability to rest and prepare himself in private.

His suit helped him in this respect. It augmented not only his physical abilities, but his mental ones as well. At a moment's notice he could move only small objects. It was rumoured that, given time to focus and charge his power, there was no limit to what he could accomplish.

The suit did not only keep him alive and strong, but it was to Sturm also an important way of hiding himself. It was a psychological shield as much as a physical one. Admittedly he hated people seeing people him in his suit as well, but that couldn't be helped. Nonetheless, he did try to appear to as few people as possible, unless it was from a distance, and he gave most of his orders through a select few individuals.

Having finished getting ready for his day ahead, he walked to the corner of the room and tapped a dark grey stone, seemingly identical to every other. The wall parted and slid away and Sturm's mechanical body walked through the newly appeared gap. He had entered an airlock to keep his private quarters contamination free. The wall closed behind him, and then a door opened in front with a hiss.

He walked forwards into the dull light of the room. The suit gave him power. It eased his pain. To those who watched him, he seemed to have been given back the abilities that he had lost so long ago. To Sturm, the suit was, despite everything, an object of hatred. By walking and performing every task for him, he felt that it mocked him. What he could never achieve again, a mere hunk of metal and chemicals managed day after day with ease. It had restored nothing to him. He was as powerless as ever. All the suit had done was remove his dignity and render him as a slave to an inanimate object.

Sturm, inwardly and silently furious at the same irresolvable issues that tormented him every day of his life, if that is the correct term for his existence, strolled over to the vast glass doors of one side of the room that made up his personal headquarters. The huge glass wall, facing south, led out onto the balcony on which he occasionally greeted his people.

This was the very room where, one day, he would receive Hawke's promise of success, and the chain of events would begin that would destroy him, but those events were long in the future, and Sturm's honed mental powers failed to give him foresight enough to see what the fates were carving into stone.

The room was immense. It was luxuriously decorated, with soft red carpets, white stone walls and decorative pillars that told the old Black Hole myths with engravings. Long yellow drapes hung down from the ceiling, which was far above Sturm. The centre of the ceiling housed a huge glass patterned window. Although the window didn't lead outside, making it rather pointless, Sturm had originally demanded the window, but also demanded that it didn't ever see the sun. In fact the whole exterior of his palace was coated in thick armour to protect it from attack. The windows he stood in front of were made of darkened glass to keep the sun out.

All of this decoration was fairly unnecessary, but he felt that it was important to keep up an regal image, even if he personally no longer possessed the facilities to know whether the carpet was soft or not. A single desk stood before the window, facing towards the door. It was commandingly huge, mainly as Sturm stood when he worked. His legs, made of metal, hardly needed a rest from standing, so he saw sitting as an unnecessary function.

Sturm ignored the papers resting on the desk. He just stared outwards. How could those worms have done this to him. Now they were trying to expand again, trying to invade Black Hole again. This time he was ready for them.

Elsewhere in Sturm's huge abode, the impression of impenetrability was being mocked by an intruder. A shadow flew through the unadorned halls of the upper regions of Sturm's palace, leaving no sound or trace of his presence, except for a trail of dead guards, each sporting a wound through the chest. The assailant's path through the palace was rambling, possibly suggesting someone that didn't know their way, but the violence of his journey pointed to a vicious creature revelling in carnage and slaughter.

Inside a guard post, groans and cries were raised. No man had time to seize his rifle before the cold steel impaled them, killing them instantly. A single man flung himself across the room and out of the door, racing down the corridor in flight. The robed assailant, his cruel mission complete, leapt from the room with a elegant bound and pursued the fleeing man.

The chase was over in seconds.

A precise lunge resulted in the Black Hole soldier's thigh being pierced by the sharp point of the bloodthirsty rapier. The man cried out, stumbled forwards and fell to the ground, coming to a halt against a cold stone wall. He turned to see the robed foe walking slowly towards him, almost seeming to taunt him by his sudden lack of urgency. The man flinched away, scrambling backwards and, finding himself in a corner, desperately cried out,

"Please! Please, I have a family! Please…"

The robed figure walked over to the man, who was cowering away from him, and leered over him through his dark disguise. A calm and young male voice emerged from the folds of material, little hint of emotion evident from his words,

"We all have our concerns, our obligations, and our priorities. Ultimately, we all have our reasons for why we act as we do. But sometimes, the agendas of two men clash. What happens then? Your death is fairly immaterial to me, yet it is a matter of some consequence to your family. Does that mean I should yield to your request? Should I thus let you go?

Only weak minds are swayed by pity. A man who gives up his aims in life for another man is a fool. In any conflict in any field of any importance, the stronger man will win. It is a simple truth. You are the weaker man. I therefore have the right to do with your life as I see fit, just as I would bow to a stronger man than myself, and I would expect no mercy from him.

And yet… to kill a man without any reason… maybe there are other ways… understand that I am solely delaying the inevitable. The strong will rise and the weak will fall. That is the inevitable conclusion of everything. I hope your family enjoy your company while they can"

With these words, the robed youth delivered a glancing kick to the soldier's forehead, leaving him out cold but, more importantly, alive. The young man sighed as he walked to his true destination, deadly foil concealed once more.

The man thought about what he had done. Why was killing so complicated recently? It never used to be. If you were capable of killing someone then that justified killing them – it was the right of the strong to control the fate of the weak. That was what he had been taught. But what quarrel did he have with any of these men? To kill those who deserved it was fine, but to kill strangers because he could… surely you might occasionally kill someone who, though weak, might possess other qualities. How did you measure strength anyway? Was it justified for the nation's greatest thinkers to be killed by thugs?

He walked across a dark hall. After a fairly long stroll, he looked down at an indent in the floor and breathed deeply. Then he jumped.

Below him, Sturm was still staring through the window, burning with anger. He didn't turn around as a crash rang through the room. The glass in the ceiling shattered and fell in tiny shards into Sturm's personal office. The robed attacker fell like a stone. He struck the floor and stayed still for a moment as the glass rained down around him. As soon as the office fell into silence, he sprang into life, leaping forwards and jumping on top of Sturm's huge desk in a single bound. His hand flew to his rapier and the deadly foil was drawn in a second with a glint of metal and blood, left over from less fortunate men. The robed assailant spoke again,

"Lord of Black Hole, and Master of the Black Citadel, I have come for you"

Sturm turned slowly, seemingly indifferent to the sword that stood motionlessly in the air, pointing at his neck. A deep voice, provided by his suit, answered,

"We shall see"


	5. Strength and Weakness

__

Hey all, welcome back to Soaring to close to the Sun as Sturm gets his full introduction. I hope that nobody minds my excessive liberties with early AW history, but Nintendo's enigmatic portrayal of Sturm invites random speculation. Just for anybody who hasn't read Hawke's Vengeance, the back story is basically that Sturm, over 1000 years old, was forced into his suit after being crippled by the White Sun, a powerful weapon of the White Sun people, who since became the four nations we all know and love. Sturm wants revenge.

One of my aims in writing this story was to avoid a one-dimensional villain at any point, so I'm sorry if anyone finds my interpretation of Sturm unbelievable, but I personally cannot stand reading yet another fic where Sturm's characterisation is limited to nothing more than 'be mysterious' and 'say enigmatic stuff'. Being enigmatic and mysterious does not create a realistic or enjoyable portrayal of Sturm. No matter how evil his aims, if he doesn't have a motive then it's all rather contrived (a small flaw that I would accuse not only some fics of, but also Nintendo themselves). Anyway, rant over. I hope I've justified my interpretations sufficiently.

Anyway, read, enjoy, and REVIEW (that's right people, keep reviewing), all the best, Foulds

An uneasy silence settled on the room, as the fine point was held out towards Sturm's neck. Sturm raised a single hand, black and made of metal. A second later, the robed assassin seemed for the first time to have been thrown off guard, as the sword leapt from his hand against his will, and was seized by Sturm's iron grasp. The robed man wasted no time. He jumped backwards off the desk and landed on his feet, his hands emerging from the folds of dark material wielding two short blades. Sturm stayed motionless, before his deep inhuman voice boomed across the expansive hall,

"An assassin. In black robes. Using a sword. Hardly original"

"Yet very effective" countered the youth, lowering his raised hands.

"One day you will stand a chance against me, given time and training. For now, this is bravado, which shields only weakness"

"I apologise, but your work has been done"

With these words, the mysterious assailant fell to his knees, his veiled head bowed anyway. Sturm stepped forwards, neither his mask or voice capable of revealing his true emotions,

"Take off your robes, Deinos. You have no need for such formal garments before me"

"As you wish, father"

With a wave of his arm and the flourish of a proud warrior, the young Deinos threw his long garments behind him and revealed the man underneath. Deinos was young, very young. He could not yet have been eighteen years old.

He possessed a slender body, his strength and speed not manifested in his appearance. His eyes were large and hazel brown. His mouth was fixed in a thin smirk, which was warm instead of arrogant. His hair was short and light blonde, combed back into short yellow spikes. His posture was straight and elegant. He kept his head slightly raised, appearing proud, but not conceited.

He wore very simple clothes underneath his robe. Dark material covered his whole body quite tightly. He was dressed in black boots, but the rest of his attire, although dark, was not actually black. Navy trousers with a dark grey long-sleeved vest clung to his figure. A slightly lighter grey material made up a garment that covered his upper body but not his arms, but this carefully woven item of clothing was for protection rather than warmth or fashion.

Everything he wore was purely functional, made specifically to hinder him as little as possible in battle. The only exception was his dark brown leather belt, which carried an elaborate pattern. It was the same pattern that covered the wrist guard of his rapier, which Sturm had now returned to him. Vanity was a sin, that was appreciated even in Black Hole, but a warrior should also have pride in his weapon.

As if shedding his robe made him more self aware, Deinos turned around and looked at the thousands of shards of glass that littered the carpet. He turned to Sturm and said hurriedly,

"Sorry about the mess…"

"Do not concern yourself with that. Destruction is a good thing. Anything that is left to itself will eventuality stagnate. It will fade and decay. It becomes corrupt and arrogant. Then it falls, torn down and razed by the young and fresh. Keep destroying and you can keep building, each time improving"

"The young and fresh?" asked Deinos with a smile, staring with mock accusation at his father.

"Only the strong may withstand the rot of age. My role is to oversee the passing of generations. I am the father and guardian of our nation. My hand will guide the progression of our work. In time I will show myself as a worthy tool of our great country yet. For now, I must veil my face from the south. They must know nothing of me or my purpose"

A single drop of blood fell to the ground from the tip of Deinos' sheathed sword. Sturm's cold eyes and metal face gave no clue as to his thoughts, but Deinos was well aware that Sturm's senses, heightened by his suit, would have perceived the single drop of liquid. Deinos began several times before finally saying,

"There was a problem with security. They said that you could not be disturbed. I decided to come anyway, but I got a little… caught up in the moment… and you always told me that killing was fine as long as it wasn't on the nice carpet. A few of them have been a little bit… killed… sorry"

"Do not worry" replied Sturm, a faint hiss suggesting an attempt to laugh, "Anybody foolish enough to stand in your way deserves to die. The principles that apply to my possessions are also true of my subjects. Those that live in comfort and security become complacent. They may begin to entertain ideas above their station. Kill a few men. Leave their corpses lying around. It allows new men to rise into their positions. It instils the proper fear and respect into the remainder"

"So to kill unarmed scientists was the proper thing to do?"

"A scientist has no skill. He is born as an empty vessel. With my blessing, he is educated in the ways of genetics. He does nothing and knows nothing that makes him indispensable to me. We can train new scientists"

"You speak eloquently father, and with great wisdom. Do you feel slightly better today?"

"I feel what I always have. But my pain is eased by your visit, my dear boy. Now, I am sure that you are not here purely for my company. Your message from lab GT-21 was passed on to me. Were there any problems?"

"As you requested, all Phoenix project information was left easily available in the labs. Security presence was reduced. I infiltrated the complex and sealed off most of the base. All guards were dead before they suspected anything. A young Yellow Comet officer called Sensei entered and followed the route that I set for him. By now the information should be with Green Earth"

"Excellent"

"Father… are you certain that this is wise? To hand over the most powerful weapon we possess to our enemy is surely madness"

"Do not be so short-sighted. Any weapon, however powerful in principle, is useless if it cannot be made to work. You know as well as I do that our damn scientists have made no progress for months on the Phoenix problem. Unless the RNA reduplication sequence can be determined then the Phoenix project will be useless. Our scientists have failed. It is clear that Green Earth has the best scientists after our own. Let them finish the project for us"

"And if they use the weapon against us?"

"The Phoenix project is of little use without a strong enough army to back it up. Anyway, we have strength enough to reclaim the Phoenix at any point we wish"

"By invasion?"

"If necessary"

"Father, have you perhaps given any further thought to my proposal?"

"The matter is not to be debated. Your ideas are those of weaklings and cowards"

"Political assassinations with the aim of destabilising the southern nations is a sound principle. It is one within our resources and one that, if nothing else, is positive groundwork"

"You will learn your place, Deinos. The Black Hole nation is nothing more than an expression of my will. What I desire happens. On a whim, I can wipe out nations, as is the right of the strong. You are the dearest person to me in this nation, and my best councillor, but now is the time to stand by me without question"

"Why slaughter so many people?"

"Why spare them?"

"Father, please, much good can be obtained through the subtle manipulation of these countries. At least try to compromise. However, if you wish to invade overtly, then I will stand by you"

"I have no problem with you working in the shadows, but only to help me. The idea of the White Sun worms being thrown into civil war intrigues me, and nothing more. If that can be brought about, then I will support your proposal"

"Must our aim always be open war in some form or another?"

"Deinos, what causes this strange compassion in you over these worms? You have never shown this pathetic weakness of mind before. Simply by coming to visit me, how many have died?"

"That is different. I have killed only a few men. They will not be missed by many. I have not made any significant dent in the population. Within a generation, the men I killed will be forgotten, and a deed that has been forgotten effectively did not happen. Anyway, nobody cares about a few soldiers. However, to wipe out whole nations on principle… it is wrong somehow…"

"I will have vengeance! Everything that they did to our nation! You think that you have the right to tell me how to deal with this matter? If you had been there and suffered as I did then you would understand! When we have the strength to crush every last one of them, then to leave a single White Sun man alive would be a mockery of my pain! I, the lord of Black Hole, have suffered for so long, and now you would forgive and forget! The Phoenix project was started to wipe them out. Now that it is in their hands we cannot turn back. Do you remember what I always told you about the order of the world?"

"Yes. There is no good and no evil. Such subjective terms mean nothing. What really matters is strength and weakness, as they can be measured"

"Go on"

"And the strong will rule the weak, as is inevitable"

"I am the strongest, so I will rule, and I will destroy the weak as they do not deserve to live!" said Sturm, slamming his metal fist against the table. Deinos, his head hung in shame, replied quietly,

"Do I therefore not deserve to live? I am your inferior. Destroy me, as is your right"

"You are not the strongest, but you are still strong. Your place is to rid the world of the weak, acting on my behalf. When the time comes, White Sun will be crushed, then we must purge Black Hole of its weak elements. Then the strong must fight to the death until only one is left. Then the world will be as it should be. For a single glorious age, the world will be ruled unconditionally and without challenge by the strong. The cancer will be entirely cut away. All the sins will be washed away…"

"You mean that you intend to release…"

"No, not her. She is driven not by strength, but by carnage. She is a mistake and an abomination"

"What if, by this open war, we crush the strong?"

"Then they are not strong enough. War is a beautiful thing, as it draws out men's strength. The weak fall away, and the strong shine through. We will seize the strong and bring them back here, to study their genetics and learn what we can. It is the excellent result of an excellent action"

"I understand that you have had centuries to compose and refine your thoughts, and I have had precious few years to consider these complex issues, but I do believe that I would not think as you do, even if I had lived as long as you"

"You do not understand how wrong you are, and you are blind to the stupidity of your words"

"Father, do not be angry. Insubordination is a crime worthy only of death, but open debate among the strong is all that keeps the righteous leader from becoming a mad tyrant, as so many have in the past. Though I cannot agree with your methods, I am your humble servant in what I do. Even through my manipulation of the south, I still serve your will. If your mind is set then I will bow to your greater wisdom"

"I am sorry, but I am quite tired. Kindly leave me to my thoughts. Go south and keep an eye on matters there. I will decide on the final course of action when the need arises"

"Of course. Goodbye, father"

Sturm walked around his desk as Deinos rose to his feet. The two men awkwardly approached each other and embraced. Deinos felt the cold metal of his father's suit. Sturm felt nothing at all. The two men separated and Deinos left the room, once again hidden by his robe.

Sturm turned back to the window. He sighed. Was Deinos too independent? That had been what he had wanted, hadn't it? A son… a real son, one with his own thoughts and opinions. But this hadn't been what he had expected. Deinos actively disagreed with him, and he would certainly possess both the mental facilities and the physical strength to enforce his own ideas in time.

Deinos had been a mistake, Sturm was forced to conclude painfully. That was the problem with creating a subject with no single overriding purpose in life; he had made his own purpose, and it wasn't always useful. The boy's abilities could easily be recreated. Sturm sighed again. If he was going to create any further Commanding Officers, then they would have to be made with a single clear role in Black Hole and a single ultimate aim. That would allow Sturm to judge them.

But what about the boy? He couldn't just remove him. Sturm lamented his own weakness. He had developed an attachment to the boy. Unlike every other worm in Black Hole, Deinos had his own ideas and the power to enforce them. Sturm regretted the decision to create a son – it had demonstrated a weakness in him that he had not seen before – but he was unsure what he would do given the chance to make the decision again.

Deinos had awoken foreign sensations in him. There was pride and contentment and concern for his safety. What did all these feelings mean? Were they forms of weakness? Sturm didn't know what to think. All he knew was that, rather predictably, Deinos was exactly like he himself had been when he was young. To see Deinos' unblemished face and devoted spirit reminded Sturm of what he had once been.

Maybe Deinos was the future? Maybe Sturm could rest one day with Black Hole under Deinos' protection. That was not a pressing concern. Sturm had to achieve his one aim. He had to get vengeance. That was surely what mattered.

Revenge.


	6. The Thoughts of Forgotten Men

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Hey all, welcome to the next chapter of Soaring too close to the Sun! Cheers to anyone who left a review for the previous chapter. Now, I'm heading off to find the sun myself shortly (it will surely be buried in Rome) so I'll be missing for a little while, but when I get back I'll write the next bits of this and Hawke's Vengeance. Oh yes, btw, that was not the end of Hawke's Vengeance! There is still a fair bit to go! Hawke may be dead, but Flak and Lash are still loose with a huge army, and Hawke's base with the entire Black Hole airforce stands untouched! Any, read, enjoy, REVIEW, Foulds

As Deinos ran to the south with his seemingly inexhaustible strength, the sun once again set on the Black Hole nation, and on the rest of the world. The sun rose and set on the next day. The sun's course through the heavens marked out many days and weeks and months and even years. For all this time, there was relative peace, and the people of the four southern nations knew nothing of the war that was already inevitable, its combatants prowling in the shadows, engineering evil schemes in their minds. Half a decade passed, and Sturm waited in his chamber, consumed by the anger and hatred that had taken over his existence.

The five short years flew by without any great event to mark them out. Young Sensei grew and matured, ever rising quickly through the ranks of Yellow Comet to the post of sub-commander. It seemed that everyday brought stories of his daring. One day it was announced that he had defeated a dangerous band of rebels who had tried to lure him into an ambush. On the very next day it was rumoured that he had negotiated peace with a town that had vehemently enforced its independence from Yellow Comet Government interference. Some people even said that there weren't enough opponents left in Yellow Comet to give Sensei a challenge anymore…

As Blue Moon rapidly began to industrialise and become very wealthy, both Orange Star and Green Earth went from strength to strength, with powerful military forces combined with reliable healthcare and a strong economy.

Many men forgot the misgivings that they had once held against Black Hole. The nation was huge, and nobody knew much about it, but that didn't make it dangerous. They held nothing against Black Hole, and, so they reasoned, what could Black Hole possibly hold against them?

As the fifth year drew to its close, events were thrown forwards in Green Earth. Far from the capital city that Sensei had marvelled at, there was a dark secret. Deep in the lush green countryside, untouched by the hand of man, there was a mountainous region of Green Earth. Hidden behind this natural shield, camouflaged and buried underground, was a laboratory.

Far below the earth, two men occupied a dimly little room. The walls were grimy, and the floor, mainly covered by a cheap beige carpet, was covered with tiny stains that nobody had bothered to try and clean. A work surface with a sink and tap, both showing signs of rust, was fixed into one wall. The tap dripped and the pipes occasionally groaned, as if voicing a complaint about the conditions they were trapped in.

Mugs, teabags and packets of sugar were scattered across the work surface. Empty plastic bottles containing traces of foul smelling milk filled a black plastic bag that had been propped up in a corner. A single bulb that was fitted into a cracked fitting in the ceiling lit the room faintly and made an incessant buzzing sound.

One of the men was sitting on a black plastic chair. He was bent forwards, his arms resting on his legs, his head drooped forwards, a cigarette that he had finished an hour ago still grasped firmly in his old, cracked fingers. The man was quite obese, and clearly took little pride in his appearance. He wore an old pair of tattered brown trousers and a green shirt that had several holes in it. His hair was turning grey and falling out; a fact that he made no attempt to hide or rectify. He had bothered to shave fairly recently, but stubble across his chin and neck betrayed the fact that he didn't really care enough to make this a daily task.

The other man paced the room. He wasn't pacing quickly or with any particular energy. He was just ambling around, staring down at a cup of tea that had gone cold about thirty minutes ago. The second man was remarkably pale. He wore a long lab coat that covered most of his body. His unkempt grey hair fell down to his shoulders in tangled curls. His eyes darted around the room with what seemed to be paranoia. Eventually he stopped and looked up at a clock.

Although the clock had been missing a minute hand for some months, it didn't bother either of the men in the complex. Neither of them cared about minutes. They didn't particularly care about hours. Keeping track of days was sometimes significant, but to lose a few was probably a blessing, given the situation. Not knowing how long you'd been working eased the pain.

But today, the pale man was concerned about the time. He walked up to the clock and stared at it closely. He suddenly turned around and threw his mug to the ground, shattering it loudly and sending tea over the already filthy carpet. The first man didn't move or react. The second man, after looking around and failing to find anything else to break, yelled,

"Where the hell is he! If he's coming today then let's get it over with!"

The first man raised his head, but kept his body stooped over. He smiled weakly and said quietly,

"He'll be here when he wants to be" the first man chuckled, "Do you remember how all this began?"

"Of course I do!" snapped back the pale scientist, continuing to amble around the room now, "It was that damned meeting with that cocky little Yellow Comet soldier!"

"Those were optimistic times… I hear he's doing quite well for himself…"

"Well it's easy for some then!"

"Calm down. We're being well paid for this. He's given us the chance to advance our research beyond what we thought possible"

"And that's worth five years of my life being stuck in this godforsaken pit, is it? We should never have taken on this damn job!"

"And it's nearly over now. If he's satisfied with the progress then that's the end of it"

"Is this what we went to university for? Is this what we studied for twenty years for? They begged me to specialise in organic chemistry, but I had to follow this damned life, didn't I! All those years we spent perfecting the genome map! We could have cured every disease! We could have ended all suffering! And.. and… they…"

The pale scientist stopped and fell to his knees, choking back tears as he beat the floor. The other man lazily struggled to his feet and squatted next to his friend, rubbing his back. He quietly muttered,

"They were never going to understand. Bureaucrats and politicians are just scared of new things. They would never have given that grant to us, no matter what we had done"

"How could they be so blind? After everything that we did, how could they just make everything that we had achieved illegal!"

"They'll understand when they can see what can be achieved. They consider our project the dream of madmen. They saw our work as dangerous. In all fairness, they are right. In the wrong hands, our skills could…"

"Dangerous! They think that we are dangerous! Do you know how much it costs to build a unit of tanks? It costs 7000 g! 7000! How much did they give us in funding! I wonder if those tanks are dangerous? How much money goes into the military every month? Do they have noble intentions!"

"The government trusts in the military to protect them. They didn't trust us"

"Why didn't we give up then?"

"I don't know"

"Why did we ever agree to work for him? We should not have made this deal…"

"It's too late to have regrets now. This may not be exactly what we wanted to use our abilities for, but we must all use the gifts we have. Green Earth will thank us yet. When they get to know about the Phoenix project, they'll thank us.

You said it yourself. The Government values security very highly. When we hand over the Phoenix Project to them then we'll have the resources and freedom to continue our noble missions. We'll get all the glory that we have deserved for so long already. I promise, we'll win in the end, together"

Without warning, a shrill whistle sounded once through the room. The two men leapt to their feet, terror evident on both their faces. The pale scientist whispered,

"He's here"

Without another word, they walked quickly through damp and poorly lit corridors until they reached a large metal door. Pulling it open, they strolled through into what appeared to be a conference room. A white screen covered the wall to the left of them, and a projector stood facing it in the middle of the room. The right wall was covered by a mirror. As the pale scientist flicked on the projector, the other man approached the mirror, appearing to be trying to avoid looking directly at it. The man raised his head, facing the mirror and spoke through a nervous smile,

"Good afternoon, sir"

Two speakers were fixed into the wall on either side of the mirror. A young man's voice replied,

"It has come to my attention that you went somewhat over budget this month"

"That was simply because we required access to a more powerful centrifuge than we possess here, in order to thoroughly…" replied the man quickly, suddenly beginning to sweat.

"I have no interest in excuses. I want results"

"We can certainly provide those" said the pale scientist with an unconvincing smile, "The sequencing of the DNA is complete. All the gaps have been filled. We are now fully aware of the complete list of codons that determine the cell's division processes"

"And the Phoenix gene?"

"Located and paralysed. The specimen will be completely unable to exhibit the Phoenix trait until we wish it to do so"

"All excellent in theory, but do you have proof of the organism's survival"

"Absolutely" replied the pale scientist. He then nodded at the other man, who flicked another switch on the projector. An image appeared on screen of a single human cell; a blue circle on a white background. The scientist continued,

"This cell was grown eight days ago and then frozen. Two days ago it was thawed out and an electric current was passed through it to kick-start the biological processes. The cell was dyed to appear blue so that it could be photographed. This is the cell as it appeared at 11:20 am. By 11:25, this was the state of it"

The image disappeared and was replaced by a image of two blue ovals pressed closely together. The pale scientist smiled at the image warmly before continuing,

"As you can see we have achieved successful cell division. We allowed the cells to continue dividing until there were thirty-two cells, then we froze the organism. While not every question has been answered yet, I feel confident that there is little more that the study of an embryo or the genetic code can teach us. With your blessing, we will reanimate the embryo and allow it to continue developing"

"At what rate will the development continue?"

"As we have mentioned before, we would feel better if we were able to accelerate the embryo's development through growth hormones. This is just to ensure that the embryo has no defects. As soon as the infant reaches the same level of cell development as a young born infant then the treatment will be stopped and the infant will age normally. With the aid of the hormones, we should be able to achieve this development within three weeks"

"I see… very well. You have my permission to continue the research, and I have no objection to the use of growth hormones. For now, I must return to my employer to report this state of affairs, but I will return in time to see the project's development and to pay you both for your services. You are dismissed"

The two men quickly left the room, broad smiles on both of their faces. They rushed back to the small room that they had been in before and spoke rapidly and quietly to each other. The pale scientist spoke first,

"He's finally given us the go-ahead. It's almost time for us to make our move. We just have to reanimate the specimen and accelerate its growth to the point at which we can safely extract it by hand"

"I don't like this plan. Let's just hand over the child and take a copy of the information. Seizing the project will put us in the firing line"

"You know the Phoenix Project's potential. We can't have specimens in the hands of anonymous businessmen. It's true that our actions will make it clear that we've betrayed him, but by the time he could possibly realise what we've done then we'll have the protection of the Green Earth government"

"You're right. The resources and equipment that he allowed us to use made us unable to refuse his offer, but now we must accept that a certain level of personal risk is vastly preferable to having a second Phoenix in the world"

"From now on, I don't care about the money. We never work for another employer who has to keep his identity and lab hidden, ok? It's just too risky"

"I agree. Now, it's about time you told me the exact plan. How are we going to escape?"

"We'll never evade the search of a man with that much money at his disposal. I think that he will have to be removed. We wait until he comes back when the project is ready, and then eliminate him. That will buy us enough time to get to the Green Earth capital. It will also remove the only direct witness to this laboratory's existence"

"Kill him?"

"It's… it's for the greater good in the end. We'll save thousands of lives through our research eventually, so what does one life matter if it ensures the survival of many more!" said the pale scientist, suddenly speaking more rapidly as a single bead of sweat trickled down his cheek. The other man, his mouth hanging open, eventually replied,

"I suppose that you are right. But how exactly do you intend to kill him. Neither of us are exactly, how shall I put this, suited to the task"

"We bring in outside help. Perhaps you remember the man whose services we hired some time ago?"

"The assassin who we sent to keep an eye on young Sensei, disguised as Dr Bremner?"

"Yes. I have already contacted him again. He'll be waiting for our enigmatic employer when he comes to collect the Phoenix Project. It's quite ironic that after everything that he's paid for, he'll die just as the project is completed, and that the man who kills him will have been paid out of his own finances"

"Very well. If you're sure that this is the best option"

"I am quite certain. Now, we must reanimate the Phoenix project"

The pale scientist nodded as the two turned and left the room, disappearing back into the gloom of one of the corridors.


	7. Reaping

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Hey all, welcome back to Soaring too close to the Sun, the story that deals with my version of events and AW lore. I'm sorry if it's progressing far too slowly, but it's about to get far more action packed, starting right now! It will become a full AW history, running right up to the first invasion. I'm also sorry if there are too many original characters in it (with whole chapters featuring none of the COs that we know and love) but, again, all the gang will be showing up in time, I promise. Anyway, I hope you don't mind any of my creations that much. Hey, personally I'm actually quite proud of Deinos…

Anyway, enough of me trying to justify myself and my characters. Read, enjoy, and, most importantly of all, REVIEW

Some time later, far to the north, in the office that looked over the grey city where innocents toiled and died so that Sturm could have his revenge, the lord of Black Hole stood by his window, staring out with his dead eyes through his metal mask. Behind him, knelt down on the soft red carpet, was Deinos, his robe laid aside again to reveal the young man's face and body. The room was completely still, as the quiet wheeze of Sturm's metal body alone broke the silence. After a long pause, in which Sturm considered the facts that Deinos had already related, the vengeful creature replied in a monotone,

"It is time that we reclaimed your brother"

"What would you like me to do father?"

"There must be no witnesses. Green Earth has served my purpose well, but now it would be advantageous to wipe out all evidence of our dealings with those scientists"

"You want me to destroy the laboratory? It won't be an easy undertaking father. The entire complex was designed to withstand a full military bombardment. Anyway, we can't attack while the Phoenix project is inside"

"I am suggesting a synchronised attack on the area. On the same day that you retrieve the specimen, the entire Black Hole airforce will swarm over the complex and launch an onslaught of overwhelming power. That laboratory was built to withstand a military strike, but I will send a stronger force than those worms have ever seen. I will wipe the evidence of Black Hole's project from the face of the earth"

"Are you certain that this is the wisest course of action?"

"You said yourself that you could not personally destroy the entire complex, and we must not leave anything behind us or those worms might make another weapon of equal strength"

"But the presence of such numbers of B-copters will both alert Green Earth of our military potential and make them suspicious of our presence. Anything could happen as a result"

"I am aware of that. The B-copters will attack nothing except that area. They will arrive and leave rapidly. Given that nothing of any significance will have been destroyed, they will not dare to declare war, not least as this attack will overawe them and check any potential confrontation. It may make the south suspicious of our intentions, but if we remain silent about the event then they will not respond"

"And the infant?"

"Ensure that the scientists are dead before you leave and then remove the weapon on foot. I trust that you are capable of this"

"I will do what I can, father"

"Do the worms suspect anything?"

"They are scientists. Like most of their kind, they are oblivious to anything beyond the numbers and diagrams in front of their noses"

"Excellent. Is there anything else?"

"How will the attack be synchronised exactly?"

"The attack will start at noon on the day that the scientists decide that the project is ready. The attack is your cue to seize the project and escape. I know that it is risky, but it will take time for even the force that I will send to destroy the complex completely. You should have time to get clear"

"Father, you should consider that Green Earth may act…"

"Enough. My mind is made up. Now go"

"Of course, my lord. I will go and watch the men from a safe distance now"

As Deinos stood up and wrapped his robe around him again, he turned and walked away. Sturm continued to stare out of the window. Just as Deinos was about to open the door out of Sturm's office, Sturm's voice boomed through the needlessly expansive chamber, though he didn't turn around,

"Deinos…"

"Yes father?"

"Be careful"

"Of course father"

Without another word, Deinos left. Sturm stared out of the window. He began to think about his decisions. Why had he just sent Deinos on such a dangerous mission? To obtain the weapon? To remove evidence of Black Hole's involvement? To test the boy? Sturm paused.

If the boy died then it was not Sturm's fault. Sturm had sent him on a proper mission with an important objective. If he died then it was his own fault. But he couldn't die. Deinos couldn't die. He had to survive.

Sturm sighed, though only a rasping wheeze escaped. What was he doing? Why did he feel these things? Had he just sent the boy to his death? But if he was dead then Sturm wouldn't feel these things anymore… but he feared the boy's death, and the thought of it pained him. Sturm looked down. He was going to regret this. He pressed a button on his desk and began to speak,

"Contact the commander of the airforce. Tell him to reduce the size of the strike team and give the remainder orders to continue the bombardment until the complex clearly collapses"

"Yes sir" came the reply.

Sturm sighed again as he released the button. His actions were reasonable. He had given the boy a fair chance. It was in his hands now. Sturm knew that it was weak to feel such things, but he longed for Deinos to survive. He had to survive.

The weeks passed quickly, and the scientists watched the young life develop in a tiny chamber, far beneath the earth.

Far to the north, a huge number of B-copters were being prepared in the expansive airfields of Black Hole. It was the largest force that the world had ever seen, even after Sturm had ordered the numbers to be reduced.

Deinos himself spent the weeks in forests and on rocky outcrops, many times dashing in and out of the complex at night, each visit escaping the notice of the scientists.

When the time for Black Hole's attack was almost at hand, a single armoured car stopped outside the laboratory and a single man descended into the dark labyrinth, and Deinos watched over all of this, a faint smile always on his handsome young face.

Finally the day came. As the sun crept up from the eastern seas, the Black Hole airforce was already in flight, swarming towards the unsuspecting shores of Green Earth. Little did the scientists know of their own fate when they rose from their beds that morning. The two men strolled together to an almost empty room. Entering through the door with pale faces, the two looked around. The walls, ceiling and floor were all reinforced concrete. A single object occupied the very centre of the room.

A small wooden cot.

Inside it were unadorned white blankets and a tiny baby, completely motionless, his tiny eyes closed, his mouth hanging open. The taller scientist, dressed in a stained white lab coat, turned to his more casually clothed friend,

"Don't wake him. You don't know what he could do"

"It's a child. And, for now at least, it is the same as any other child"

"It's a weapon. We made it as a weapon. It can't be anything more than that. True, it is a weapon that can walk and talk, but we must never allow ourselves to forget its purpose, or its potential"

"That doesn't mean that it's not human"

"So?"

"It is, if you like, our child"

"What?"

"We created it… we have… certain responsibilities…"

"For God's sake, don't get emotionally attached to it! We are scientists and this is a job! That's the end of it!"

"We should give him a name. We can't just hand the boy over and call him a weapon"

"If you want to, go ahead"

"…Phoenix"

"Oh, original"

"It's a good name. Powerful. Unassailable"

"Fine, henceforth we will refer to the Phoenix project as Phoenix" said the taller pale scientist, sarcasm quite evident from his voice.

Hours later, as noon approached, a robed youth descended a ladder through a disguised metal hatch. After climbing down for some time, he found himself in a familiarly dim concrete passageway. Without concern, Deinos walked calmly down the gentle slope. His black robe still covered his body, lending him the appearance of a floating black spectre.

Deinos turned and moved through a doorway, passing into another dark grey corridor. The complex was huge, and it would have been overwhelming for anyone who didn't know the way exactly. After a few more turns and twists past endless tiny rooms containing equipment and storage units, Deinos hesitated for a second. Something wasn't right…

__

Click click click click click…

Deinos dived forwards instantly, just as a deafening explosion tore through the narrow corridor, hurling dust and chunks of rock everywhere. As he leapt, his arms instinctively flew up to cover his face, and he pulled his legs up to reduce the chance of being hit by flying debris. The rush of air and heat pushed him back quickly, but he never lost his focus.

Just as he was about to hit the floor, his left leg flew out and kicked against the wall, pushing him out of the spin that he had been thrown into. He took the impact against the hard ground onto his shoulder and rolled forwards twice, knowing that trying to stop too soon would almost certainly injure him. As he rolled for a third time, he kicked out again with his powerful legs and landed on his feet, sword out and raised, his robe discarded behind him.

His sharp eyes scanned the corridor. No enemy was there. He thought quickly. Somebody wanted him dead. The scientists were smarter than they looked. He had to get the child and quickly. He turned around. The passageway had been completely destroyed. Reinforced concrete had been shredded like paper. This was the work of a professional. That armoured car. So, thought Deinos, the scientists have brought in some help.

Deinos evaluated his situation. He was trapped in an underground complex, which incidentally was about to be demolished, with a professional assassin. This wasn't good. Then things got a lot worse for Deinos. A dry and humourless voice called out to him,

"Turn around slowly"

Deinos did as he was told and saw his newly arrived adversary. He recognised the man. He had watched him from the mountainside on that night when the Phoenix project had first been handed over to Green Earth. It was the scientist, as he had believed at that time. His tousled brown hair was combed back neatly now. Gone were his glasses. His nervous temperament replaced by a cold stare and motionless pose. He held a rifle in his hands. His stance and weapon handling betrayed a great deal of experience. He wore navy trousers with a long black coat. He spoke quietly, his words echoing across the silent hallways,

"Put down that sword"

Deinos, looking around and seeing nothing of use, obeyed. He was in a featureless corridor that was now a dead end. It wasn't a great place to resist a professional with a rifle who was some distance away. The assassin seemed to relax slightly after Deinos was officially disarmed. The youth's mind raced. The man was overconfident. He seemed to view Deinos as nothing more than a scared little boy. Black Hole's heir raised his hands, but stayed focussed and ready. The assassin seemed in no hurry. He then said without emotion,

"Stay still and I will grant you a quick and painless death"

Deinos ran through the options as his foe began to raise the rifle, his fast mind coming to a decision in a second. Deinos was wearing a bullet proof vest, but that wouldn't grant him much protection against a determined foe. Deinos was fast, but not fast enough to evade bullets in a narrow corridor. No other options. He had to grab the sword and hope for the best.

As the assassin raised his weapon and Deinos prepared to throw himself forwards with every last bit of speed that he could muster, the battle was suddenly turned on its head.

Out of the blue, the complex shook violently. The first wave of the Black Hole airforce had arrived. The assassin stumbled to one side and lost his concentration for a second, not considering Deinos to be any threat at all. Sturm's son needed no further help. His hand flew to a thin piece of material on his shoulder, almost invisible to the naked eye. Within the same second, his hand flicked forwards.

The assassin froze. As his mouth crept open, his chin and hands shuddered rapidly. A thin choking noise escaped from his throat. Even his eyes stared onwards, cold and unseeing. As the complex continued to tremble, the rifle was shaken from the assassin's hands.

Deinos, having reclaimed his robe and weapon, walked forwards and stayed silent. He approached the assassin, whose limbs were tense and trembling, still standing in a frozen pose. He pulled a tiny sliver of metal from the man's neck and slid it back into the material on his left shoulder. It was a throwing dart. The shaking stopped. The first wave must have passed over now. The complex still seemed secure… for the moment. He began to speak quietly,

"I know that you can still hear me. I just thought you'd like to know what was happening. It's a poison, naturally occurring in snakes. In such a high concentration, it is also a powerful paralysing agent. Speech and movement are both impossible in under a second. It wears off in about eight hours, leaving you feeling rather ill. That is, of course, if the user wishes it"

With this comment, Deinos glanced down at the assassin's belt. A number of explosive charges, the same type that had destroyed the corridor, were tied to it. Deinos picked one up and looked at it for a second. He then casually pressed several buttons before walking round to the front of the assassin and laying the charge in his line of sight. As he walked away unhurriedly, he called over his shoulder,

"You know what they say about playing with fire"

Shortly after walking around a corner, a huge explosion boomed through the dark corridors, throwing up dust and huge amounts of stone. Deinos knew his destination. After a minute or so in the dim passageways, a nervous voice called out in response to his footsteps,

"What happened? What was all that shaking about? How much explosive did you need to remove one man?"

Deinos stopped for a second and then crept silently onwards. The scientists were now officially dangerous. He treated them appropriately. Deinos listened intently as he moved through the complex. A tap dripped. Someone was breathing heavily. The more obese man was almost certainly less fit, so it was probably him that was nearby, considered the robed youth. The timid voice called out again,

"Hello?"

This time, there was no doubt. The scientist was just around the next corner, probably too scared to progress until someone replied or he heard footsteps. Deinos prepared himself and threw his body around the corner, foil in hand.

As he swung his weapon, the scientist fell back, clearly shocked by his employer's unexpected skill with weapons. Just as Deinos prepared to lunge, the complex itself seemed to lurch sideways and shake violently, as dust fell from the ceilings and the sound of shattering glass and warping metal pervaded the laboratory.

The second wave of B-copters had launched their attack, and the complex wouldn't stand up to the bombardment for much longer. Deinos had to get the child and get out. The scientist saw his chance and took it. He leapt forwards and tried to punch Deinos in the stomach. It was a weak punch from an inexperienced warrior. Deinos, regaining his balance quickly and dealing with the continued shaking better than his opponent, grabbed his wrist and twisted hard, before delivering a swift kick to the scientist's chest, knocking him to the floor instantly. The man made no attempt to stand up, but screamed out frantically to his partner,

"Get Phoenix and run!"

Deinos raised his sword from under the folds of his robe, the sight of it making the scientist go pale instantly. The youth lashed out with another kick, leaving the man facedown on the floor, before saying simply,

"I apologise, but I must follow the word of my father, lord, and master"

With no further delay, the rapier was thrust downwards, passing straight through the neck of the scientist, who died instantly. Deinos wasted no time and leapt onwards, hearing the sound of collapsing stone echoing through the hallways. He focussed his mind as he ran and listened intently through the groaning of the structure…

Footsteps, straight ahead, running frantically. The last scientist had no intention of fighting. Deinos flew around a corner and saw the paler scientist in his normal lab coat sprinting away from him… with the weapon held tightly in his arms.

With no delay, Deinos, rapidly catching up to the man, reached for another throwing dart before holding back his hand. He didn't dare to attack. The complex was shuddering violently, and he couldn't be sure of his aim in those conditions. Something struck the youth. Where was the man going? He was heading away from any exit, deeper into the lab.

He realised the truth too late. As he followed the man around another corner, he only saw him for a second, as the scientist slammed his hand into a button on the wall and a huge metal plate crashed down. Deinos could hear several more thumps behind it. The scientist had prepared a secret escape route, and he had sealed it closed. Before Deinos could get it open, the complex would have fallen apart.

As the crippled lab stopped shaking again, awaiting the third and final strike that would destroy it completely, Deinos froze. He had failed. The Phoenix project could be anywhere…

Deinos snapped back to reality. The project wouldn't get far. With the complex destroyed, the scientist wasn't going to be able to create another specimen; he lacked the information and the equipment. Equally, the weapon wasn't exactly a threat until it matured. He had failed and that couldn't be helped, but now he had to escape. The scientist couldn't get too far away.

As the third wave of B-copters launched the final deadly attack on the birthplace of Phoenix, Deinos leapt back through the hatch that he had entered through and fled across the battle scarred countryside. He easily charged out of range, anticipating each missile strike and leaping out of its way, rushing and bounding around the fissures that Black Hole had created in Green Earth's innocent soil. He watched the complex collapse inwards completely from a nearby hillside, leaving a huge crater of churned earth.

Deinos watched the swarm of black helicopters fly north, fleeing as quickly as they had appeared. Within the hour, the Green Earth airforce raced over the area, arriving from the east. It was a tiny force compared to Black Hole's horde of B-copters. It was lucky for them that they hadn't arrived in time to engage Sturm's forces. B-copters circled aggressively, looking like they were watching the disaster site with great care.

As soon as a force of T-copters arrived with soldiers, other scientists and officials, the attack helicopters left. Most of these men left before dusk, leaving behind a small force of infantrymen. The site was surrounded by a short metal fence, and it was illuminated brightly by powerful floodlights.

As dawn approached, Deinos stood up and left, running northwards. He couldn't search the whole country by himself. It was time to seek his father's aid. Deinos knew one thing for certain; Sturm would never let the weapon escape.


	8. Changing Tides

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Hey all, welcome to the rather long-awaited next chapter of Soaring too close to the Sun! The story that will tell all! It doesn't just run right up to the first game. It will also tell all the untold stories of Advance Wars. Why did Grit defect to Blue Moon? Why do Eagle and Jess have such a stormy friendship? Why did Sonja become the queen of strategy? Why weren't Sensei and Jess around to help during the first invasion? And where do Phoenix and Deinos fit into the whole matter? All of this and much more will be revealed, so stay tuned as we soar ever closer to that white glowing thing in the heavens!

Oh yes, and I'd just like to quickly recommend that everyone reads 'Competing with Perfection' mainly because it absolutely rocks. I hope that the keeper of the scarf doesn't mind me mentioning it here, and if you do, let me know and I won't do it again.

Also, a minor note to clear up some confusion. I'm sorry if I failed to make it clear before, but Sturm did NOT use his own genetic code to create Phoenix. Deinos is Sturm's exact clone, obviously, but Phoenix is an original creation, built from scratch with correspondingly original powers…

Anyway, with a taste of things to come, read, enjoy, and REVIEW! All the best, Foulds.

In the very centre of the Green Earth capital, an immense building stood proudly in the early morning haze. The huge structure, basically resembling a mansion, was made of austere white stone walls and a flat roof of the same material. The building, although hardly grandiose, possessed a silent elegance. The centre of the building's face was set back and covered by huge green marble decorative pillars, the only embellishment on the otherwise purely functional structure. Long white stone steps led down from the colossal wooden doors into expansive gardens. The whole structure was surrounded by a huge stretch of grass, as well as gardens and small fountains. This pristine haven in the normally hectic centre of Green Earth life was kept apart from the rest of the city by ornately shaped metal railings.

Today, the grounds and steps, normally covered with strolling politicians discussing the future of the nation in private, were totally deserted. The only visible presence at all was the odd Green Earth soldier, decked out in faultless military regalia. Today, two days after Black Hole had appeared over Green Earth for the first time in living memory, the politicians were all deep inside the building.

The largest room in the building, and unquestionably the most important, was a room with staggered seating. Middle-aged men in dark suits, most of them overweight, filled the chamber. The chamber was long and fairly thin, with two sets of steps running along the two longest sides of the room.

The men on the left of the room were mainly seated, appearing uniformly confused. The men on the right were all standing, waving papers and generally making angry gestures and noises. A chairman at the end of the room, attired in formal red robes, perched on what appeared to be a throne, had either gone to sleep or just abandoned any hope of controlling the rabble that was ruling Green Earth. A single speaker at the front of each party was leaned aggressively over an elaborate gilded stand that resembled a lectern. The man who led the group of indignant men yelled across the chamber,

"And if this Government therefore proves incapable of decisive action against the greatest threat that our great nation has ever faced, then perhaps stronger leadership is required"

Amid a torrent of jeers, the speaker's opposite number rose and replied equally loudly,

"This Government will not take any action with irresponsible haste. Until a full independent inquiry can determine the facts of the matter, we will not be rushed. If this proves anything, then it is that Black Hole is as, or possibly more dangerous than the sceptics have been warning for years"

"The honourable gentleman is trying to do nothing more than stall this country in an attempt to subvert the will of the people. There has been a massive outcry against Black Hole's aggression. We owe it to those we represent to react as they see fit, immediately and with maximum strength"

"This is the worst point that could possibly be chosen to launch an attack on Black Hole. For the first time, we know that they possess both the strength to strike us and the aggression to bring war to our borders. A knee-jerk reaction that could destroy us is unthinkable, irrespective of public opinion"

"The facts are clear. We have been attacked. Black Hole has sent its full air force against us. It was only antiquated military procedures, which I have been lobbying to change for years, that prevented our airforce from engaging the enemy. Our opponents would simply allow Black Hole to launch these raids whenever they feel like it, doing nothing against them. There are risks in any response, but it is in not responding that we put our country into jeopardy. There is no reason to assume that Black Hole will leave us alone. This was a statement of intent, and I will not see this country gripped by terror on account of a foreign power while fools stand around and try to keep peace when our enemies have already declared war"

The meeting had been happening for some time. It would go on for some time as well, and the raucous mob that ruled the country would bluster and scream at each other, coming to no conclusion.

As they bickered, a single man trudged tiredly along a muddy path, lined by weeds and overgrown shrubs and brambles, far removed from the grandeur of bureaucracy. The man, wearing a lab coat that was increasingly covered with scratches and smears of dirt and blood, tramped slowly across the countryside, keeping away from open ground. He owned only two things in the world now. One was a handful of scrunched banknotes. The other was somewhat more valuable. A tiny baby slept silently in his arms, wrapped in white blankets. Staring into middle distance, the man muttered to himself,

"He's dead. He killed him. He really killed him. He's really not coming back. After everything, he's not here. He'll never be here"

The man shook his head and sat down on a moss covered log, setting the child down next to him gently. His head sank into his hands before rising again,

"I've got to stay focussed. I have to come up with a plan. I have to stay focussed. Black Hole must have been behind all of this. Whatever caused the lab to collapse, it was aimed at me. Black Hole are willing to attack Green Earth to get Phoenix. That means Phoenix can't stay here. I have to get him somewhere safe."

The man's eyes rested on the baby for a moment before he continued,

"Fine, so what else? Black Hole can't produce another Phoenix. The attack destroyed the only copy of the information that exists. Phoenix himself is the key. But without the equipment in the laboratory, Phoenix is useless. The Phoenix gene is paralysed, and it will take time to recreate a mechanism that can unleash his abilities. In time, I can make preparations for his return, but for now it's too risky for him, for me, and for the whole of Green Earth. Taking him to the Green Earth Government now would simply leave him exposed. He has to be hidden until he can defend himself"

The man sighed again. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He should be a hero. He had produced the ultimate warrior. He shouldn't be sitting on a decaying log while trying to avoid being skewered by a robed man's sword. This wasn't how he'd imagined it. Why was he running for his life? The most powerful weapon that had ever existed was sitting next to him, and, he noticed with a groan, it needed its nappy changing again. As he pulled a strip of plain white cloth from his pocket and set to the task, his mind raced.

He was rather lacking allies at the moment. He couldn't go forwards to the Green Earth authorities, and he didn't know anybody abroad.

Then he realised.

He did know somebody abroad. In fact, he happened to have done business with one of the most powerful military leaders in the world. If anyone could keep Phoenix safe, then it would be Sensei. The man smiled as a plan formed itself in his mind. It did no harm to hand over the weapon. Yellow Comet were hardly going to be able to reactivate the Phoenix gene. Phoenix could wait there until it was time to reclaim him… but this was assuming, he suddenly realised with a frown, that Sensei would comply.

He put this from his mind for the moment. It wasn't perfect, and he didn't like the fact that Phoenix would be out of his reach for so long, but he had to try to arrange for Phoenix's return, and that would require him to have a lot of allies in high places, as well as money and resources to allow Phoenix to reach his full potential. Anyway, it wasn't like he had a huge number of options at the moment. Every day in Green Earth could potentially lead to his death. He got up and began strolling more purposefully towards the west and the nearest town. There was suddenly much to organise…

On the following day, as the scientist rested in a grubby single room in a tavern that stood at the end of a dark alleyway, the robed youth sprinted through the sprawling bleak city far to the north, ascending the black stone steps to Sturm's citadel.

Black Hole's ill-fated lord stared ever onwards over the dead landscape. He knew that Deinos was approaching. It was another facility that Sturm kept concealed under his suit. His powerful mind, its buried energies unleashed in Sturm's crippled body, could do more than extend his influence over the outside world. Sturm, just as the hound's nose is honed to track his swift prey, could weakly sense the thoughts of others. He lacked the skill to accurately read minds, but he could sense the position of any man that he had met, and he knew Deinos' psychic traits well.

Sturm watched over his son from afar. He focussed carefully during the youth's absences. He used to spend his time honing his powers and plotting his revenge before the boy had been born. Now he spent ever moment they were separated keeping an eye on him.

It was a futile action. He knew that. Watching Deinos' life from far afield didn't protect the youth. Sturm was impotent. The boy was able-bodied. He went out and achieved things. Sturm just stayed in his office. It wasn't that Sturm was unable to fight. In fact, his metal suit was stronger than any body of flesh and blood. His mind too gave him powers beyond those of any other man. But he could not reveal himself before the time was right. A single precision strike by the airforce was one thing. But the south could not be allowed to know of Sturm before the day of vengeance had dawned. They would look upon Sturm on the day of the fateful battle, and then the worms would be crushed.

As he stared out, Deinos entered the room through the expansive wooden doors. He called out,

"My lord, the…"

"Silence. I know. I have seen everything that you have"

"Father, I'm sorry, I never meant…"

"Silence! Grovelling will not return the weapon to us, so do not grovel! We must forget the past and ensure that our aim stays true. The laboratory has been destroyed. This means that only one weapon exists, or will ever exist. Even if Green Earth recovers the weapon, they lack the resources to reproduce it. And, as you have assured me before, the Phoenix gene has been paralysed. With the destruction of the lab, only Black Hole has the potential to unleash the weapon's power. Anyway, the weapon is a mere child. It is inevitable that he will fall back into our hands"

"…You do not intend to launch a force to find him?"

"Time is on our side. I have waited a millennium for my revenge. I am able to continue waiting. If we were to attack rashly, then the southern nations would unite, and that is the only way that they might resist me. We must not act in any way that might unite them under one banner"

"Then what do you intend, my lord?"

"We will wait for the weapon to mature. He is blessed with more than just the Phoenix gene. He has been produced to possess exceptional abilities in every field. With training, he could become your equal. I am certain that he will rise quickly through the ranks of the mere worms. They will shower glory on the means of their own destruction. In time, he will rise up and make himself clear to us. That is when he must be seized, not now"

"What would you have me do, my lord?"

"Stay here a short time. You have been absent from the palace too much lately. I would enjoy your company… for a brief period. After that, return south and keep an eye on our other projects. There is much to organise before we are ready"

The two men talked for hours. Far to the south of them, as the sun burned in the western skies, the scientist stood in an empty field. The village that he had stayed in was visible over a grassy pasture. He held Phoenix, now dressed in slightly more appropriate clothes for a baby, which he had bought with whatever money he didn't need to get back to the Green earth capital, where he had friends to stay with.

He watched the approaching black outlines grow bigger in the sky. The roar of the approaching T-copters intensified. The scientist shielded his eyes against the sun as he began to realise the scale of Sensei's escort. There were twelve helicopters. Eleven of them descended and formed a wide circle in the field. Soldiers jumped out, all of them fully armed, and completed the circle, which the scientist was just outside of. The soldiers froze with their rifles held tightly across their chests.

After a short pause in which several men talked on radios, the final T-copter, itself larger and more heavily armoured than the others, descended and set down in the very centre of the perimeter that the troops had created. A soldier ran over and pulled open the door. Five paratroopers, all of them wearing ceremonial dress, lines of polished medals gleaming on their uniforms, stepped down from the doorway and lined up. After a pause of total silence and stillness, a lone man emerged. The solders who formed a circle stared outwards. The five elite paratroopers saluted as Sensei walked past them.

Sensei was older now, and carried himself with more dignity and confidence. His flowing blonde hair had been cut back to a more reasonable length. Leading increasing numbers of men had leant him a growing faith in his own abilities. He had grown less reliant on his military advisors and sub-commanders. He seemed more strong-minded. His face was harsher now, and he had grown less susceptible to feeling pain. He performed his duties with a quiet conviction, never pausing simply because there were risks.

Fortune was a changeable ally, and peril was close by any choice that he could make, so he couldn't afford to be weak. It was the way of many military minds. Throughout history, the men that let their thoughts dwell solely on what might happen couldn't continue to lead. Sensei was above that now. To win battles, you had to be objective, and the only way to stay focussed was to root out all emotion from the field of battle. The theory had served him well so far. Nobody had ever defeated him.

Nonetheless, he dressed in an unusually plain yellow uniform. He also wore a parachute. He may have become a powerful military leader, but he still knew the risks of travelling by air.

Several soldiers stepped out of the circle and checked the scientist for weapons. Satisfied that he was safe, they led him forwards. Sensei stopped a small distance away from the man, who was himself gestured to stop. A Yellow Comet infantryman saluted and called out,

"Commander Sensei, he is unarmed"

"Very good, captain. You are dismissed"

The scientist watched as the soldier ran away. After glancing around nervously, he finally said,

"Quite impressive. You are a Commanding Officer now?"

"I am the Commanding Officer. The Emperor himself has trusted me with control of the combined armed forces"

"That's a lot of power for one man"

"A unified country is both strong and secure"

"A rather nice display as well. As I recall, the last time we met, you came to Green Earth alone"

"You should see them in action. These are the best trained soldiers in the world. No infantry force can match their firepower. They're supreme in the air as well. This is the only force in existence capable of parachuting into any area, ready for immediate action. Anyway, you didn't ask me here to chat. What do you want?"

"You took significant action against Black Hole in the past. We paid you a large amount of money for what appears to have been a relatively simple mission. As I see it, you owe us a favour"

"I disagree. You sent my men so that the attack couldn't be traced to you. And, since you had no idea what we were going up against, the fee was satisfactory for both of us. Anyway, the deal is complete now"

"It would be very bad for your prospects if Black Hole were to somehow find out about your involvement"

"You are in no position to make threats. Anyway, I no longer fear our enigmatic northern enemy"

"They are dangerous. They only just attacked Green Earth"

"I know. Yellow Comet intelligence agencies have the numbers involved. I am confident that we could repel that force. They may have been numerically superior, but no airforce can exceed the firepower of my B-copter squadrons"

"Do not underestimate them"

"They attacked a rural outpost of some description, yes?"

"Well, that is correct…"

"And they didn't stay long enough to engage the Green Earth airforce?"

"No"

"Then they don't sound too dangerous. I don't think much more of their ground forces either. As I recall from my little trip there, Black Hole was undermanned and very disorganised. I think you might be overreacting"

"What are you suggesting?"

"Do not concern yourself with my affairs. What are you here for?"

"I want you to look after this child"

"You called me here for that?"

"Please"

"Is he your son?"

"…Yes. Yes, he is my child"

"I take it that things could get… unpleasant in Green Earth soon. Do you honestly think that the Green Earth Government will go to war?"

"Yes. And I want him to be safe" the scientist said, quite content that Sensei had come up with a perfectly good reason on his behalf. All the scientist had to do was go along with the story that Sensei himself was creating and tell a few lies and then Phoenix was as good as safe.

"Is there anything else?"

"I don't want him to be brought up as a renowned individual. Give him a new life in Yellow Comet. Just keep an eye on him. Make sure that he stays safe"

"You don't want him back?"

"He will be happier with you. I cannot say anything beyond this, but you should know that any connection with me could put him in grave danger"

"So Black Hole has found you. They want you dead for the destruction of their laboratory. You want to keep your son safe, whatever happens. Am I right so far?"

"Yes. That's correct" said the scientist with a false sigh. He thought about it for a moment. It was only a slightly warped version of the truth. Sensei was almost right, but he had simply failed to recognise the depth of the situation.

"What is his name?"

"Phoenix"

"Fine. I'll do this for you, but you owe me a favour. Good luck with Black Hole"

Within five minutes, the helicopters had departed again, leaving no evidence of ever being there except for imprints in the grass. The scientist waved jovially at the soaring helicopters as they faded into the distance. A smirk spread across his face. Phoenix was safe, and he would be kept out of sight, and, as far as Sensei was concerned, the scientist himself was as good as dead. It was quite perfect. Once again, he was a step closer.


	9. A Leaf in the Wind

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Hey all, welcome back to the full AW history. Now, sadly, I'm going to be a little busy from now on, not least as Oxford's golden spires are calling me… so I'll be a little short of writing time from October 5th onwards. I'll still try and write when I can (I understand that Hawke's Vengeance is reaching its (hopefully) exciting conclusion), but I'm just warning that updates could come along a little more slowly from now on.

Anyway, read, enjoy and REVIEW! All the best, Jon Foulds

Time passed.

Green Earth, after months of indecision, decided against going to war. A preliminary build-up of troops was disbanded, and the matter of a single attack on a deserted rural area soon faded away from the political forefront. Green Earth felt happy to have flexed its military muscle in a few public displays of armed strength.

Black Hole didn't return to Green Earth, and as the years rolled by, the warnings that Black Hole's units would return seemed more and more to be nothing more than sensationalist gossip. Instead, the country continued to grow in its strength. But in the shadows, the politicians diverted huge amounts of funds to military development, silently fearing what the fates might hold.

The scientist, still lamenting the loss of his friend, returned to the Green Earth capital. Fearing being shunned by the scientific community and facing harsh penalties from the Government, he disappeared into the shadows, confiding in only those who he was certain that he could trust. It was a sad condemnation of human nature that the Green Earth Government would sentence him to death for handing Phoenix over to Yellow Comet, yet would also shower glory on him if he were to deliver the weapon into their hands. In time, his number of allies grew…

Deinos stayed in Black Hole's citadel for a few months, before being ordered by Sturm to return south and take care of Black Hole's other intentions. Despite Sturm's calm words, his orders suggested a deeper worry about Phoenix's absence. At least once every year, Deinos would receive an impulsive communiqué from his father, ordering a full search of every country, ordering Deinos to kill every man, woman and child that opposed him in his search for Phoenix. The order would always be cancelled within a few days.

His dealings with the scientists and those like them were not uncommon to him. Deinos spent much time in the company of scientists, weapon experts, mercenaries, and other men in the south who had been ignored by their Governments. The only trend was that he always spoke to the best men in each field, and he always remained robed and anonymous. Deinos spent much of his time in Blue Moon and Orange Star, but he watched Green Earth's mounting power with great concern.

And yet, all of Green Earth's strength faded away compared to Yellow Comet. The young nation grew and grew in power and influence as the military stayed under the leadership of Sensei alone. The country mourned when, two years after Sensei adopted young Phoenix, their emperor passed away peacefully in his sleep. After a week of respectful bereavement, the imperial advisors, the merchants, and even the masses unanimously declared their mighty Commander as Emperor Sensei. Under this leadership, Yellow Comet's power base spread throughout the continent, and began to stretch northwards over the sea…

Time passed.

It was ten years after Sensei had taken young Phoenix under his wing. As the scientist had requested, the boy was brought up away from the majestic splendour of the Yellow Comet capital. He was given a comfortable life in a rural town, brought up and educated like any other boy. Life in Yellow Comet was peaceful for civilians. He lived in the home of a local governor, who was a good friend of Sensei, and, when he was old enough to ask, was told simply that his parents had died when he was very young. Nobody, he was told, knew anything about them.

Phoenix grew up as a fine scholar, gifted in science and classical languages. He was tall for his age, and possessed striking features. His eyes were a fine shade of blue, and shone with intelligence. Yet he was an unusual child. He rarely smiled, giving nothing away through his facial expression. He had a tendency to wander off and sit on his own, staring at the horizon. Most of all, his hair had always been naturally grey. He kept it short and it fell back into jagged folds; dark grey hair with streaks of white.

Far to the north of him, Sensei stood on the deck of a small boat, which swiftly cut through the gentle waves. He looked out at a large island in the distance. That was his destination. There was a large port visible on the nearest side of the isle. A few mountains rose up to snowy peaks in the centre of the landmass, but the region seemed largely flat. A few towns. Not much forestation. No major rivers.

The island had been completely uninhabited only a few decades ago. The former emperor had set up the small coastal town as a lookout point for foreign invasion fleets that were attempting to land on the long sandy beaches of Yellow Comet's northern coastline.

Sensei had converted it into a refuelling depot for his own forces as his influence had spread north. Sensei had occupied many independent islands with his forces. They had put up little struggle. Now they were all under Yellow Comet's control. They showed respect to Sensei's nation and paid enough tax to fund further expansion. Yellow Comet had been growing at an amazing rate.

The last decade had been hard on Sensei. The pressures of possessing the full responsibility for both the governance and defence of Yellow Comet left him constantly busy. His free moments were taken up by an endless stream of written correspondence and visitors petitioning for advancement in power or money. Aside from that, he was allowed at least an hour each day to practise his sword technique. It was expected of an emperor to be an able swordsman, and he found it calming.

Sensei hadn't exactly grown older well, and his face seemed to have aged more than ten years. He seemed tired by the constant strains on him. He always looked despondent in public. His eyes had lost their flicker of energy. His forehead was covered by faint outlines of wrinkles. His blonde hair was increasingly fading to grey. And yet he was still only about forty years old.

He was wearing imperial attire. A yellow tunic covered his body. A long blue cape hung loosely to the ground behind him, held around his neck by a finely wrought golden clasp, which resembled a golden comet followed by a flaming trail. A sheathed curved katana, the ancient weapon held by every Emperor, was fixed to a strong dark leather belt. Sensei disliked his formal clothing. It wasn't practical for a military leader.

Feeling the spray against his face, he turned away to the left. As he peered into the distance, he could see a cluster of armoured landers crawling towards the island. Slowly overtaking them was a division of Sensei's pride and joy. Five B-copters soared towards the island to meet up with the many that were already there. Just behind them were three T-copters, each containing a unit of Sensei's elite mechanised infantry.

Sensei wasn't exactly a brilliant naval commander. In fact, he'd never really 'commanded' a naval unit as such. He just told them where to go and they did the rest themselves. But after Sensei had subdued all opposition on Yellow Comet's mainland and unified the country, expanding northwards to the hundreds of independent islands and city-states that existed was the next logical step. A unprecedented number of military landers had been constructed, and they existed to ensure Yellow Comet's dominance at sea.

As Sensei looked out at his own men, a general in ceremonial dress approached him and saluted. The general was the first to speak,

"Emperor Sensei, I have the latest report from the island"

"Any further developments?"

"The unidentified force hasn't moved yet, sir"

"What are the battle conditions?"

"There are a few deployment bases in the town, but nothing significant. Nonetheless, we've secured every base, sir"

"You're certain?"

"The north is completely uninhabited. There's nothing for them to occupy there, sir"

"And our own force?"

"Drawn up as you requested, sir"

"How many?"

"Every spare unit, as you ordered, sir. The entire mainland army has been called up to the island, except for basic security personnel. The airforce of the imperial colonies has been diverted to the area. The reserves and the elite paratroopers have been in position for a few days"

"Excellent. And the enemy?"

"They've hidden their numbers well, sir. Our recon units haven't even come up with a rough estimate. They report that forested areas are being occupied, and that they suspect that more units have not been unloaded from the enemy fleet yet"

"And the sub-commanders?"

"General Kanbei is at the frontline now, sir. Are you sure that he's experienced enough for this mission?"

"He is the most capable of my military consultants. Has Lieutenant Hachi delivered a report yet?"

"Not since yesterday, sir. He stated that he had already surpassed the expected tax yield. Furthermore, the eastern trade routes are now completely free from piracy"

"Excellent"

"Sir?"

"Yes"

"Who is the enemy?"

"I strongly suspect that it is the Black Hole army"

"Sir! They… Surely…"

"Do not worry. Their reaction is a good sign. They're scared of our presence this far north. They've mobilised to stop us before we get too close to the Black Hole mainland. Their appearance betrays their fear. All we have to do is overwhelmingly crush them once, and we will never be opposed at sea again. Black Hole will not dare attack us, and the other countries will not dare attack the country that defeated Black Hole"

"Sir, what if Black Hole…"

"Why do you fear them so much? I have been to Black Hole. I have seen its men. They are not incredible warriors that should be feared. They are flesh and blood, and furthermore they are badly trained. The fact that they have never been involved in a major conflict is not a reason to fear them. Think about it for a moment and it becomes clear that they are actually weak. Their men are untried in war"

"You seek to conquer them, sir?"

"I seek to conquer nobody. All I want is the security of our great nation. Now go and ensure that the new arrivals are drawn up in position"

"Yes sir"

The general left, and Sensei stayed where he was. This was it. That was what mattered to him now. This would be the final battle.

Sensei was tired of his life. The constant pressure was not what he wanted from life. He hadn't asked to be this successful. It had just happened. Sensei had, for reasons that he could only assume were to do with his own skills, never been defeated. A country that had been considered backwards only fifteen years ago was now ahead of Green Earth in terms of strength.

It was the curse of celebrity, and the curse of success.

When the former Emperor had died, the people had cried out for Sensei to take over. What exactly could he say to that? One can't politely turn down an offer when the entire population of a nation wants you to become the most powerful man that ever lived. And once he had taken up the position, he couldn't lay it down again.

Perhaps the astute political commentators had silently realised that the joint responsibility of the combined armed forces and the running of the country would be too much for one man, but they had been powerless to resist the will of the people.

Sensei was now looking for a way out. He was desperately seeking any method to cut back his responsibilities. He was looking to quietly and unofficially retire. Every time an advisor or regional governor got married or left to spend time with his children, it just reminded Sensei that his life was passing by. He had as much glory as anyone could ever want, but he wasn't happy.

The only question was how to retire. The running of Yellow Comet could be entrusted to advisors, but nobody would allow Sensei to hand over authority in the armed forces to anyone else, mainly because nobody could possibly be as well qualified as Sensei himself. Therefore, he had to secure the country. It was simple. Blue Moon wasn't an issue. Green Earth wouldn't risk an invasion. Anyway, neither country had a motive. Once Yellow Comet was secure, aides could be entrusted with most duties.

But then there was Black Hole.

That damn nation was a problem. Everyone feared it. Everyone assumed that because it liked to keep to itself, it therefore intended to conquer the world. Because nobody knew how strong it was, it was therefore unimaginably powerful. Because nobody knew who led the country, it was therefore controlled by an insane tyrant. It was nothing except illogical and hysterical fear.

That was the problem with an enigmatic enemy; nobody would ever be convinced that they were safe from them.

This was the only solution. Increase the military presence on the island. Make sure that Black Hole knew that they were there. Sure enough, Black Hole had shown up. Sensei had lured them into open battle. Now all he had to do was defeat them. As soon as the enigmatic Black Hole army was exposed as weak, then the Yellow Comet people would see the truth. The illusion would be shattered forever.

Sensei, the unbeatable Commander Officer, the all-powerful Emperor, the greatest leader that had ever lived, smiled to himself. One more battle and it would all be over. This day would be long remembered…


	10. Falling

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Hey all, sorry that I've got to say this, but please, if you are still reading, DO KEEP REVIEWING. You have to understand that I have little time on my hands, but I have to finish Hawke's Vengeance, start my new fic and I have a few other things I'd love to write at some point, so if nobody is actually reading this, then I will abandon it and begin work on something else instead. So if you want to see Soaring continue, do leave a review, however short, just so I can gauge its popularity.

Also, if you're interested, I've just updated my author page, so have a glance at that for a new look at the making of Hawke's Vengeance and Soaring.

Anyway, read, enjoy and, PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!

All the best, J Foulds

The sun burnt in the clear sky and reflected off the white stone courtyard. The huge circular expanse was surrounded by tall grey pillars. A decorative spire rose in the very centre. At one end of the area, featureless steps led up to a pathway flanked with sculptures. Each statue showed a proud and powerful looking man. Each monument also carried an image of a curved katana.

The silence of the deserted area was broken by the echoing clatter of heavy footsteps. One man, dwarfed by his surroundings, calmly strolled across the site. He wore a standard unadorned yellow uniform. He had occasionally been given one or two little awards for bravery, but he didn't bother to wear his stripes or bars.

He disliked being decorated. It put him above everyone else, and he didn't exactly like that situation. He wasn't in the Yellow Comet army for medals and glory. It was his duty. The powers that be had given him a few unique abilities, which he used for the good of his country. He kept his head down and paid no attention to his place in the military hierarchy. Keep quiet. Do your duty. It was an easy life. He wouldn't trade it for all the power of the Emperor.

This man was one of Yellow Comet's elite troops. His name was well known throughout the airforce as an excellent B-copter pilot. This was the man who had led a squadron of attack helicopters over Moji Island in the largest night raid in Yellow Comet's history. This was the man who had helped to break the enemy's lines during the assault on Mial's Hope. This was the man who had evacuated the infantry squadrons that had been shot down behind enemy lines in the western colonies. There were a few more acts of selfless courage as well, but nobody had reported them, and he hated the fuss of being a hero, so they remained unknown. This was the man whose name was known to Emperor Sensei himself. This was Nestor.

Nestor was, as he reminded anyone that spoke of him too highly, a mere soldier. He was a high-up soldier, but he was still just a grunt and not a commander.

Nestor continued to walk towards the very centre of the area. He stepped right to walk in the small amount of shade that the column provided. As he reached the tall decorative spire, he sat down slowly and rested, leaning against the huge spire.

Nestor wasn't exactly handsome. In terms of looks, he was in fact completely unremarkable. Nestor was just under thirty years old. He had a plain countenance, light brown hair that was scruffy and fairly short , and intelligent green eyes. He was fairly short and thin, and his skin was faintly tanned. He often seemed mildly nervous. He was, most of all, an introvert. Nobody knew what Nestor was thinking. He never gave anything away.

Only one item made him stand out at all. He always wore the same pair of goggles. He kept them around his neck at every moment, and put them on as soon as his B-copter took off. Nestor always insisted that they were lucky. The only reason for this was that he didn't know how to take a compliment. The result was that, as he constantly pointed out, nobody should ever praise him. His success was only because of the goggles.

Nestor looked around uncertainly. He could see that this was a nice town. And he knew that this courtyard was a grand acknowledgment of Yellow Comet's newly discovered strength. And yet somehow he felt that something was wrong. He looked around again and, satisfied that he was alone, pulled a small battered journal and a severely chewed pencil from his pocket. He flicked past the pages of writing and began to hurriedly scribble,

"Once again I have been called to lead a division against our enemy. And once more I am uncertain who my enemy is. The men of Mial's Hope were fine soldiers. Every man, the old, the young, the sick, the injured, every last man stood his ground against the assault. I joined to add glory to Yellow Comet, but I never wished to do this by simply taking over our neighbours.

On Yellow Comet's mainland, we fought the rebels to unify our homeland. But now we are the aggressors, driving other people from their land. The forces on Moji Island never sought to harm my family, but just to defend their own. They did not want to burn the fields of Yellow Comet, but we snatched away their fertile pastures.

I cannot help but conclude that this change of our nation's course is entirely the result of the our new Emperor's influence. Combining the control of the military and the control of the regime created a man with unprecedented power. The man's influence cannot be checked. His will cannot be questioned. Can nobody else see the danger? Surely our Emperor must be aware that he cannot control the whole world?"

Nestor sighed and slid his journal back into his pocket. These were the thoughts that he could never share with anyone. The aggressive policies of Yellow Comet would continue with or without him. It was better to remain quiet and stay in the Emperor's favour. He stood up and began to walk back the way he had come. The Emperor himself had arrived some time before, and the airforce would be ready to begin its advance shortly.

Far to Nestor's north, another man stood in a grassy pasture. He looked exceedingly confident, but actually felt like he was about to be ill. General Kanbei stood on the roof of a recon unit, staring out over the local area through binoculars. He wore a flawless yellow uniform with a few small medals on the front.

The most remarkable thing about Kanbei was his age. The man who had just been given one of the highest positions of authority in Yellow Comet was barely twenty years old. He was a military advisor to the imperial forces and second to Emperor Sensei in rank.

Kanbei was rather nervous about this battle. He had been in many confrontations before, but this was a huge build-up of troops. A battle of this scale was unprecedented. The armies of the mainland and the colonies had never been united before. He was also worried about his own experience. It was inevitable that his rapid promotion would make many people resent him. It was also likely that he was less well versed in war than some of the other generals.

In all fairness, as Kanbei frequently reminded himself, he was qualified. There had in fact been younger military commanders than him in the past. As the son of a nobleman who had been a close ally of the former Emperor, Kanbei had been groomed for power from an early age. He had been trained in matters of war and combat for years. His tuition gave him a huge amount of knowledge. But the problem was that he was fairly untested in real warfare.

He had been often present at the imperial court throughout his life. Kanbei, although being only a child at the time, had known Sensei before he became Emperor. Sensei had befriended the young boy, perhaps seeing his potential, and they had been close. One was the most well respected and talented commander of their nation. The other was set to become the most talented commander of Yellow Comet in the future.

As soon as Sensei had become Emperor, Kanbei's authority had quickly increased. He had been regularly consulted by Sensei. Sensei did this at first to teach the boy, but as Kanbei matured, the Emperor did it just as often because he wanted Kanbei's opinion on a matter. Kanbei had also dealt with a few small islands and strongholds of resistance for Sensei when the Emperor lacked the time to deal with it personally.

And now, Kanbei thought to himself, he was the leading general of Yellow Comet. He had to focus. He had to fight this battle well. He had to win convincingly. Sensei had invested a lot of time and effort into training Kanbei, just as Kanbei's own father had done before him. He couldn't let them both down.

He looked around. Behind him was a huge army, drawn up across a flat grassy pasture. Infantry, most of which were elite mechanised units, made up the majority of the troops, but they were supported by huge numbers of armoured recon units, tanks and artillery. The airforce hadn't arrived yet. Sensei would order it to take off just before the attack began to hide their numbers until the last minute. As soon as it approached, Sensei would order Kanbei to begin the assault.

Kanbei turned and looked forwards. A small tract of forestation was in front of him. A part of the enemy was hiding in it. Kanbei's orders were to storm the forest as soon as he received the order to proceed. Intelligence reports suggested that the enemy were hiding in the forests to delay the battle until more reinforcements could arrive. The Emperor had therefore decided to take the initiative. The army would strike into the forest, and the airforce would support them.

Little did Kanbei realise that someone was staring back at him. Deinos stood at the edge of the forest, concealed in the shadows, staring out at the Yellow Comet army. He was not wearing his infamous black robe at the moment, but just his combat attire. The young man barely seemed to have aged at all. His shoulders were slightly broader. His expression was vaguely more severe. He dressed in the same way.

Sturm had watched Yellow Comet's expansion for a long time. He had picked this moment to send his own forces against it. Deinos knew that this wasn't a proper battle as such. This battle would act as a test. Sturm was testing the army, and, more importantly, he was testing Deinos.

The whole Black Hole army was significantly far behind Deinos, and he was almost alone. A single man, a sub commander, stood behind him, having just arrived. Deinos, still not facing him, began to speak,

"Are our troops in position?"

"They are drawn up as you requested, commander"

"Was the information that we were waiting for reinforcements leaked to the enemy as I requested?"

"Yes sir, the men we have in Yellow Comet's intelligence bureau have given that information to Emperor Sensei already"

"Is the rest of the army ready?"

"They are awaiting your orders, sir. The indirect combat divisions report that they have a clear shot at Yellow Comet. Shall I order them to begin?"

"No. It is not safe yet. We must not underestimate our foe. A reckless strike could give them the advantage in this battle. Hold back all units until I give the order to proceed. We will let Sensei make the first move"

"Yes sir"

Both men turned and walked back towards the rest of the army.

Nestor sat at the very front of the cramped B-copter cockpit. He was a pilot. Wedged into an even narrower space behind him was another man. The second man, a soldier who he had never met before, was his gunner. It actually took two men to control a single attack helicopter. The B-copter gently flew through the skies. The feeling of freedom was what Nestor loved. The battle was a grim trial.

Nestor turned around in his seat. The skies behind him were full of helicopters, and most of them were B-copters; Sensei was good, but he could hardly drop paratroopers into a forest. He pulled his lucky goggles into place. That was what it was. It was all about luck. We're all born equal, and then it's all luck, thought Nestor as he pulled his lucky goggles over his face.

He glanced downwards. The army was drawn up far below, looking like a slender yellow ribbon on the ground. As he watched, the lines began to charge forwards. Nestor smiled to himself. Sensei's little favourite must have decided to advance, he thought. He spoke clearly to his partner,

"In position for first attack run. Descending to attack altitude now"

As the helicopter dipped forwards and sank towards the ground, the gunner replied,

"All weapon systems fully operational. First missile ready to launch"

The B-copter soared over the forest, and suddenly a plume of smoke erupted from underneath as a single missile raced into the forest and exploded with great force, releasing a wave of fire and smoke into the air as trees were torn apart. Nestor's B-copter rose again as it charged onwards. He could hear the faint roar and explosive din of missiles pounding the forests. The ground force would deal with whatever was left. They had to move on and take out any further opposition.

Suddenly, a thunderous clatter cut through the air. Nestor looked forwards. Bullets were flying at them. A few tanks must be trying to take them down. Nestor smiled. They had just given away their location. He flicked one of the switches in front of him and began to speak,

"There's some crossfire coming from the left side of the forest. Can someone deal with that?"

A formation of five helicopters that had been following Nestor closely broke away from him and pulled off to the left. He gave it no more thought, but moved on. A second later, a voice came over his radio,

"There's some heavy fire coming at us. It's probably a few units of infantry. They should be down shortly…"

Nestor frowned. Infantry wouldn't start a fight with B-copters… Before he could give it any more thought, a series of hysterical voices shouted over the radio,

"Commander, we're under fire…"

"No! Wait…"

"Pull up!"

"More fire coming from the right!"

"We just lost two more B-copters! Wait, another…"

Nestor scanned the skies as he veered around sharply. The airforce had been scattered through the sky, fleeing from a trail of fire. He flicked the switch again, completely confused, and yelled,

"What's going on?"

"They took down fourteenth squadron! All five B-copters are down! More are falling now! No! We just…"

The radio went dead. Nestor glanced over the forest. What could possibly…

There! He saw something for a moment. It wasn't a tank. He had never seen anything like it. It had some sort of new cannon on it. He spoke quickly to himself,

"Those guns are calibrated to hit air units. If we never saw them coming then…" he flicked another switch, "Base, this is Nestor. We are suffering huge losses. They have a new weapon. Contact General Kanbei. Tell him to abort immediately!"

Nestor's B-copter dashed forwards through the chaotic heavens, veering from side to side to avoid the formidable power of Black Hole's new weapon, trying to get back to base…

On the ground, Kanbei's troops were in equal trouble. The tanks and mechs were firing on Black Hole tanks, but every shot seemed to bounce off harmlessly, and the counter fire of Deinos' tanks was overwhelming. The lines were already ragged, and the infantry were being wiped out by indirect fire.

Kanbei couldn't understand. The enemy was too far away to be using artillery. They couldn't be using artillery. It was impossible. But indirect fire, perhaps also too powerful to be artillery rounds, fell on the Yellow Comet troops.

The Black Hole infantry surged forwards, matching the power of Sensei's own elite infantry, but also outnumbering them significantly. Kanbei stood near the frontlines, frozen to the spot. The noise and speed was overwhelming. Everywhere clattering gun fire, the roar of charging tanks, the barely audible calls and screams of dying men, the crash of shattered trees and the booming flood of noise from each explosion.

Kanbei shook himself out of it. He had to do his duty. He had to live up to his potential. He sprinted forwards and climbed a steep incline, ducking behind a log as he went, and joining up to a group of infantrymen, who fired out from their cover. Kanbei pulled the leader down to him and yelled over the noise,

"What are the battle conditions?"

"There's too much fire coming from the front! We don't have any air support!"

"How many?"

"Not huge numbers, but our tanks don't seem to be doing any damage!"

Kanbei looked up over the mossy log. The forest was a dark maze of wild overgrown foliage, lit up by thin streaks of sunlight, intermittent bursts of fire and the smouldering remains of trees. He had no idea what was happening elsewhere. The forest made it impossible to tell numbers. Kanbei made his decision at once. He had to get the battle out of the forest. He ran back down the slope, crouched down as far as possible, trying to find his way back to a portable communication device.

A line of bullets slammed into the tree next to him, inches from his head. Kanbei dropped to the floor as the line of fire raked the scenery around him, hiding his head in his arms, playing dead. As soon as the fire stopped, he rolled sideways into some thick undergrowth, crawling back towards his lines.

Deinos stood fairly close to Kanbei, only just behind Black Hole's advancing front, utterly fearless. A soldier approached him and spoke loudly over the din of battle,

"Lord Sturm commands you to make contact with him immediately"

Deinos sprinted away from the lines, leaving the soldier far behind him, yet not seeming to make any particular effort as he sped through the dense forest like the wind. He reached a small black tent in less than a minute and let himself inside, carefully sealing the tent behind him.

The inside of the tent was pitch black. Deinos bowed down, his head pressed against the floor. A moment later, a grainy image of Sturm's mask appeared on a large screen that filled all of one wall of the tent. The inhuman booming voice could not be mistaken,

"Greetings Deinos. How goes the battle?"

"It is proceeding on schedule, my lord. I am told that we have intercepted General Kanbei's order to retreat out of the forest"

"Where is Sensei? He must pay for this"

"He is not on the battlefield, father. We will retrieve him after the battle is won"

"What is the state of Project Dagger?"

"The engineers in Orange Star finished it some time ago, my lord. Our agents collected the finished models two days ago. Their arrival escaped Yellow Comet's notice. They are waiting for further instruction"

"Those engineers served my purpose well. Has the situation been dealt with appropriately?"

"The engineers were all killed as soon as we had control of the weapon. There are no other witnesses. Black Hole now possesses the only copy of the plans. Their construction area was completely destroyed"

"Good. Have the new Vulcan cannons performed as expected?"

"They have been carefully calibrated to target Sensei's B-copter squadrons. They possess the overwhelming firepower that the Blue Moon scientists promised us. The entire airforce has been routed already"

"And the Medium Tanks?"

"They are superior to Yellow Comet's primitive machines in every way. Our weapon development program has done well to create them"

"How have the rocket units performed?"

"Their range took Yellow Comet by surprise. Their power is also a great improvement"

"Excellent. I will deploy the fleet immediately. Take care, my son"

Meanwhile, Kanbei and his tattered forces were now in full retreat, shocked by the numbers of units that emerged from the forests in pursuit. He was inside an APC that dashed back towards the base, and he heard and felt the impact as bullets struck the retreating vehicle with deadly ferocity. He yelled over the radio to Sensei,

"Emperor, you have to make preparations for a full retreat"

"This is the entire Yellow Comet army!" snapped back Sensei's increasingly tired voice, "We cannot retreat! This is the most powerful army that has ever existed!"

"We're outnumbered, and they seem to have units that we haven't seen before!"

"Where is the airforce? They'll deal with this"

"They have been…" Kanbei stopped and looked around as the APC was thrown forwards by a powerful blast. It was still in one piece, but only just, "They have been completely put to flight. We lost contact when the formations broke. Something was able to tear them apart!"

Sensei didn't reply. He couldn't reply. Nothing he said meant anything. He had been beaten. He had lost everything. A faint voice from a transceiver in his hand woke him up. He listened to Kanbei again,

"You must prepare the navy for a full extraction!"

"It will be waiting for you. Hurry"

Sensei put down the transceiver. All that mattered now was salvaging as many units as possible. Looking down and cursing his sword, his cape and his imperial tunic, he stormed towards the harbour, ordering every man to get to the ports and help prepare the fleet for an immediate departure.

Deinos rode in an armoured car as it chased down and picked off fleeing infantrymen. Today had been a good victory. Yellow Comet's whole army had been thoroughly devastated. The remnants were in no order. He picked up a small radio and spoke to a sub commander through the microphone,

"What is happening at Yellow Comet's base?"

"They appear to be preparing to remove the remaining land force by sea"

"Just as my lord expected. Is Project Dagger in position?"

"Yes sir. Shall I order them to attack?"

"No. Wait for a moment. What about our own airforce?"

"The B-copter squadrons are airborne now, sir. Yellow Comet didn't spot them before. They should be in range shortly"

Yellow Comet's army, formerly its pride and joy, a great and proud institution, powerful and unbeatable, limped through the city streets of the southern port, desperately trying to reach the landers. Units poured into the harbour in no order, crowding around random ships, trying to reach salvation, all directives forgotten by the desperate soldiers.

Kanbei stayed in his APC as it drove into the dark loading bay of the lander. He couldn't face Sensei yet. He needed time to think.

Sensei himself was in the open air of the flagship, which already had set off from port, followed by small numbers of landers, as many that had been full of troops while coming were now unnecessary. He stared out over the sea. Nobody yelled or cried. There was just total despondency. The crew silently went about their duties. Soldiers, crude bandages wrapped around deep wounds, were helped up onto the deck.

Sensei sighed. It was over. He had got what he had wanted. It was all over. He wouldn't have to be Emperor for much longer now, one way or another. He breathed deeply. They were out of artillery range. At least Black Hole couldn't do anything else.

A huge explosion of water burst out of the calm sea just to Sensei's right, suddenly rocking another lander with the force of the impact. Men rushed over to the side and watched in horror as a series of blasts hit the lander under the surface. The lander itself was pushed off course by the blasts, and huge cracks spread through the ship with the sickening groan of warping metal. The ship split apart quickly, each half sinking almost straight away.

Sensei watched, completely powerlessly, as men rushed up onto the deck and jumped or were thrown into the sea as the lander tipped over completely. Men emerged from under the surface, waving frantically, calling out for their very lives. Sensei could only look on, unable to move, as his speeding ship left them behind to drown. He couldn't turn back. Black Hole might launch a pursuit. What had just happened?

A soldier called out and pointed at the trailing fleet. Another lander had just been hit, from the front this time, and, its front end blown away, it had risen up, taking on water, and was rapidly sinking into the depths. Sensei's mind race. No weapon could possibly hit them this far from land. Unless… something was under the surface…

Sensei had no time to ponder this terrifying thought, as another soldier called out a warning,

"Look out! B-copters!"

Black Hole's attack helicopters swept overhead, firing their machine guns over the decks. The infantry leapt to the sides of the boats and used the rails and lifeboats as cover, returning the fire. Sensei ran for the bridge as another wave of B-copters soared into view, firing without hesitation. Sensei rushed up the stairs as he heard bullets tear apart the metalwork around him, and couldn't bear to look around as voices started to scream before being silenced,

"Sensei!" one voice called out. A desperate young voice. One that had trusted Sensei with his life, "Sensei!"

Sensei didn't turn around. He had to get to cover. Suddenly a shooting pain tore through his leg as the scattering fire of the B-copter happened to find its target. Sensei roared in pain and grasped onto the rail beside him as another bullet shredded his shoulder.

Sensei fell, overcome by the pain. His head struck the metal step with a crack. He stared out at the sea through barely conscious eyes. The world spun. He closed his eyes.

Darkness.


	11. Saying Goodbye

Hey there! Long time no update, but I'm back! Sorry, but I am cheating on AW with Resi and Star Wars, but it's sweet that people are following me! Please feel free to check out Always Emotion is the Future. Also, hopefully, welcome Hawke's Vengeance readers!

Anyway, back to Soaring, read, enjoy and review, J Foulds

The Black Hole fleet crawled forwards through the dark waters. It was late afternoon but thick dark clouds were blocking out the sunlight. The sea was a sickly dark green, mixed with streaks of white foam left behind the advancing landers, coated in dark armour. Deinos was perched on the very top of the flagship, itself a mere landing craft. He stared out at the approaching Yellow Comet continent and the inviting long beaches.

Within half an hour the landers came to a jarring halt as they sailed up onto the sandy shoreline. The great metal walkways lowered with a grating creak, and the columns of fully armed infantry emerged. There was no hurry or panic as in so many attacks. The soldiers marched out and advanced up the winding paths towards the nearest town. Deinos leapt down from the bridge's roof and landed silently at the edge of the surf, immediately rising and strolling towards the small village that was apparently near here. A sub commander approached him and saluted. Deinos made no gesture in reply, fully covered by his robe, his face veiled by shadow,

"Our Lord has provided me with details of this area. Send the infantry along the coast to seize the northern ports. As soon as we have secured suitable landing points for reinforcements, we shall head inland. Send the armoured reconnaissance units south to gauge resistance"

The soldier saluted again and ran off down the beach towards the recon units that were slowly crawling from their landers. Deinos looked around him. The men were calm and well ordered. They looked like they were just performing another drill.

Deinos sighed to himself. He knew what was wrong. This wasn't a war anymore. War was simple. The good guys wore black. The bad guys didn't. You shot them, because if you didn't then they'd shoot you. It was simple. But there was no resistance here. If the only way to protect his great nation was to wipe out every last worm then Deinos would personally have pierced their breasts with steel and shown pity to nobody. But Yellow Comet had been pacified already. They posed no threat now.

Deinos' unearthly form, merely a floating robe shrouded in darkness, drifted up the path and the infantry backed away, keeping at a great distance from their commander. Reaching the top of the cliff, he strolled down a paved street into a small town. Knowing that his face could not be seen, he smiled warmly.

The town was so unlike Black Hole. His home was the palace, a sprawling labyrinth of identical corridors, largely filled with security. The rest of the country's habitation was either factories, crumbling grey blocks filled with appallingly small rooms for accommodation or laboratories. Factories were filthy and dangerous, the flats were cold and, so he had heard, full of disease and the laboratories regularly suffered from unspecified 'accidents'. He greatly respected the efficiency, but hated the aesthetic.

This place was different. It reminded him of some of his earliest memories. Of course, he had always lived in Black Hole, but he had the faintest memories of pictures he had seen in a book. He smiled again as he wondered where he had got the book from. Sturm would surely never have allowed it.

Rows of large houses painted in light pastille colours. Trees lining the streets. It was all here, just like he remembered. Except for one thing. The picture had been filled with people. They had been smiling. All of them had waved outwards to the reader, as if beckoning him in. He had wanted nothing more than to join them. He had wanted to be happy. Deinos wasn't sure if he had ever known happiness. There was a certain rush in the chase and the kill. He respected his father. He had always accepted that these feelings were happiness, mainly as the alternative was to accept that his life was therefore unhappy, and depression was an unproductive state of mind.

There were no happy people with their pets, another concept that had been and still was quite alien to him. Now the only people were the Black Hole soldiers. They were tearing the town apart, smashing through the windows, kicking down doors and searching for any hidden enemy troops waiting in ambush. Deinos looked at them with disgust. They were corrupting all that was good about this town. Deinos could just imagine it. Just days ago the streets would have been filled with smiling men in suits and children with balloons and cats and dogs. Now Black Hole had destroyed that. Deinos' own army would establish a base here, tearing down the quaint village and building a cheap grey concrete fortress to act as a regional HQ.

Just for a moment, Deinos moved for his rapier, but he checked his hand as he shook his head and regained control of his emotions. Everything was part of the plan of his Lord. He was merely his father's forerunner in this matter. Foolish sentiment could not be allowed to interfere with the security of Black Hole. Sensei had threatened Black Hole once, and he could not be allowed to do it again. Sensei had sought to attack his home and his father! For that, there could be no forgiveness. He had to be stopped and punished at all costs. Deinos, shaking with rage, called out to a sub commander, who ran over to him and saluted at once. Deinos fiercely and slowly began to speak,

"Seize this area and set up a base of operations. Send communiqués to the surrounding towns demanding unconditional surrender immediately. Have the tanks and artillery ready to move on those that decline. Ensure that you make an example of our strength if any resist us. Send one unit of mechanised infantry to the Yellow Comet capital and each major city. Demand the immediate surrender of all military leaders and regional governors. If the towns refuse, give the order to withdraw. Ensure that the people know that such a course of action would be worse for them in the long run"

Deinos looked around. The soldiers could handle this alone. He would find the men who dared to try and hurt his father. Deinos sprinted out of the town, moving as fast as the wind.

* * *

Sensei sat perfectly still, staring at his own hands as his fingers involuntarily twitched. His palms were covered by the faint outlines of wrinkles. Time brought an end to everything. He was slumped on a small red sofa, though he hadn't actually noticed. He'd been utterly silent and vacant since he had arrived back. His cape hung limply down to his feet. His curved sword hid in its sheath, helpless against Black Hole. His elaborate robes, the trappings of power, were covered by dirt and dark red marks. 

Shortly after the attack on the lander, a medic had dragged him below deck. The wound to his leg had only been a flesh wound. Compared to the fate of the majority of the army it was a mere scratch. His shoulder had fared worse, but the medic had still been able to clean up the wound, remove the bullet and wrap it up in clean bandages. Sensei's left arm was now held in a sling.

Sensei had regained consciousness after a short while. After the fleet had got back to land, he had dismissed the medic with a silent wave of his hand. The army had sprinted from the landers, each man desperate to get back to his own family, to let them know he had survived and to get them to safety. Sensei had stayed on the deck of his lander, which was badly damaged by a B-copter assault and was slowly letting on water.

Kanbei had approached him at length, and had been forced to lead his own Emperor to an armoured car. Both men were now in a town on the east coast of Yellow Comet. Kanbei wasn't present, but had insisted on standing guard outside. Sensei was alone, with only the relentless ticking of a grandfather clock breaking the silence. He could hear heavy traffic outside. People were fleeing south already. He didn't know why. If Black Hole landed then they would easily take over the country now. The army at full strength hadn't stood a chance and now there was no army at all.

Sensei looked up as Hachi came back into the room and smiled weakly. He had arrived a few hours ago by sea and had come straight to Sensei. The Emperor was forced to assume that Kanbei had let him know where they would be. Hachi wasn't exactly the most heroic figure in Yellow Comet, but his presence was certainly reassuring and calming. Despite holding a prestigious rank in the Yellow Comet forces, Hachi had never actually been a part of the armed forces. He had never served in any combat situation. At some point he had received basic training, solely because he had wanted to rise higher than a civilian had been able to, though he had received a rather token instruction in warfare.

Hachi was a bureaucrat and a merchant, doing a huge amount of work for Yellow Comet and using the opportunities his rank gave him to become an individual with a large number of connections. He wasn't a soldier. His place was in the background. People like him gained little glory, yet they were perhaps the most essential individuals in Yellow Comet.

Hachi was about thirty years old. He was wearing, as always, a white short sleeved shirt with a large brown belt and a matching small satchel. A green bandanna was loosely tied around his head, covering his scruffy dark brown hair. He sat down next to Sensei with a china teacup in each hand. He set one of them down on a small wooden table in front of Sensei and took a sip of strong tea from the other, appearing far more relaxed than Sensei. After a short pause in which Sensei ignored his tea completely, Hachi asked without a hint of hesitation,

"So what do we do now?"

"I have to leave"

"You understand that if you leave now you can't come back. Black Hole, I dare say, would like to give you a nice public execution. If you were to come back it would threaten all of Yellow Comet"

"I can tolerate being an exile for the rest of my life. I can suffer that as I'm only hurting myself. The sooner I'm forgotten the better. If I stay then Black Hole will come after me. We can't win now. Fighting will just do more damage to Yellow Comet. We should let them take over. It is the best option for our country's safety"

"So what do you intend to do?"

"There is an old place that used to be considered sacred to Yellow Comet, but it's not actually in our territory. It isnear Green Earth. I intend to travel there in secret. Black Hole will no doubt purge the military of its best minds. Time is short now, and the enemy will be upon us presently. It is not much, but I would like Kanbei to join me, so that I might train him in the ways of war. My time is over, but I may still be useful by training him. I would also be honoured if you would agree to join me in this venture"

"I think you might be speaking to the wrong person"

"You are the most talented diplomat in this nation. There are, of course, hundreds of men I would bring with me if I could, but time is short, and the decision is your own"

"Well, if Black Hole are setting up shop here then I guess I'd better join you on this little quest. Hey, I might even be useful from time to time"

Both men stood, a new strength obvious in Sensei, and left the room quickly. Kanbei agreed to join at once, of course, and the three men hurried down to the harbour, keeping to the back streets. As they came to a main road, Kanbei stopped and spoke,

"You go ahead and get ready to depart. I have to do something before I leave"

Sensei nodded sympathetically and led Hachi away to the seafront, calling over his shoulder,

"Don't take too long. Black Hole's scouting parties could be upon us soon"

* * *

Kanbei sprinted through the narrow paved streets and leapt over a fence, finding himself outside of the town's boundaries and in the countryside. Scanning the horizon, he caught sight of a small cottage nearby, which he ran for at once. Kanbei, now dressed in a clean yellow uniform and with a rifle slung over his shoulder, heard the distant roar of large armoured units moving towards the area. Suddenly even more afraid by the lack of time, he ran even faster, and burst into the house. He rushed through the familiar rooms calling out to the person he sought, and eventually, finding himself in a small compact kitchen, looked out at the garden, and he saw her there. 

A young woman, probably about twenty years old, was sitting on a round mat in a reflective silence. Her attention seemed to be on a small cup of green tea that rested on a slightly raised woven platform. Her hair was long and black, flowing freely around her shoulders, stray hairs resting on her face, shining in the sunlight that had burnt through the clouds. Her skin was golden and smooth, completely unblemished. Her face was beautiful, and yet she seemed sad. She wore a long red dress that left her shoulders and arms uncovered.

She looked up as Kanbei approached her, and rose with a natural grace and elegance, as if every move she made with her slender body was part of a stunning dance. He approached and embraced her tenderly, an almost apologetic look on his face, and she forced herself to smile in return. After a pause in which Kanbei heard a distant explosion, he spoke quietly,

"I wasn't sure you'd still be here"

"If they want to destroy us then they will. I won't run"

"You know then?"

"Everything"

"Ami… I'm sorry. When I married you I wanted to give you all the good things in the world… I'm sorry. I was wrong. I should have listened to you years ago. I should never have supported all the aggression and expansion"

Kanbei's young wife Ami let out a sigh as she sat down again. She stared forlornly at her feet,

"I sense that you have to go"

"Yes. I must make amends, and I must join Sensei and learn from him. When the time is right, I will return. Please don't try to stop me"

"I wouldn't. I know that when you get an idea in your head you can never give up"

"Ami, please join me"

"You know I can't. Your place is with Sensei, training and learning. I would be no use there. I have to stay here. Black Hole will do terrible things. Yellow Comet needs people like me here now"

Kanbei sighed. Ami was a skilled public servant, and a staunch opponent to Yellow Comet's aggression. Somehow they had fallen in love anyway and, more surprisingly, avoided killing each other. And, as usual, she was right. She'd be invaluable to Yellow Comet, especially if Black Hole truly did decide to do away with the ruling class. Neither person cried. They just stared at each sadly, as if the war had already torn them apart. He softly said,

"I'll visit you, I promise, and I'll write to you when I can. Please be careful"

"Goodbye my love"

She stood up again and embraced him, and they kissed deeply, pulling apart suddenly as the ground shook and the sound of a distant artillery barrage made them both cringe. Time was short, and he had to leave. If he didn't get back to Sensei by the time Black Hole arrived then everything could be lost. Kanbei staggered back a few steps as she stared helplessly back at him with watering eyes. Unable to stand the sight, he turned and ran, praying that she'd be alright, wishing he could stay.

Kanbei made it to the edge of the town without looking back. He was almost back at the dock. The roar was louder now. The town must have refused to surrender, he thought. Black Hole must be planning to wipe it out with an artillery barrage. Kanbei sprinted around the corner and froze.

Standing in front of him in the middle of the street, completely motionless, was the black spectre that he had glimpsed for a moment in the battle. Kanbei watched as the floating black robe raised its head. The figure moved and allowed the dark robe to slip off his body and fall behind him, revealing the young athletic form of Deinos, like a snake that sheds its skin and is reborn with renewed rage and ferocity. Kanbei, having no idea what he was facing, muttered quietly to himself,

"Trust in your equipment. Trust in technology"

The youth's face was covered with hatred, his eyes ablaze. His fists were tightly clenched. In a flash his hand rushed to his sword which flew out to his side with a lightning swipe, as if he would tear apart the very air if he could.

Kanbei's right arm went for his rifle, bringing it around and pointing it at Deinos. Deinos soared forwards inhumanly fast and swung his blade, shearing off half of the weapon in his first blow, utterly crushing the remainder. As Kanbei gasped, wide eyed with terror, Deinos struck him across the face with the back of his hand. Kanbei fell backwards, his nose broken. He lay sprawled on the floor as Deinos stood over him, sword pointing at his neck. Deinos smiled, an insane smile of sheer loathing and contempt. As he prepared for the final lunge, he hesitated, for a second. Something was…

Deinos spun around instinctively, raising his sword to parry Sensei's attack. Sensei has not counted on Deinos' superior senses hearing the katana cutting through the air, and was knocked off balance. Sensei yelled out,

"Kanbei! Go!"

Kanbei scrambled to his feet and fled to the harbour as Sensei and Deinos faced off against each other. Deinos seethed with pure rage. He spat out,

"I had no argument with you. How dare you attack Black Hole! What gives you the right to attack my Lord! Have at you!"

Deinos leapt forwards, his superior abilities matched by Sensei's superior training and experience. Deinos lashed out randomly, his emotions clouding his judgement, and Sensei knocked each blow away, but was himself slowly being driven back. As they fought, they could hear the deafening explosions of artillery units and the resulting carnage deeper in the town.

As Deinos slowly got the upper hand, mainly as Sensei was hampered by only having one arm fit to fight with, both men stopped as the thunderous howl of an incoming artillery shell approached. The shell smashed into the building next to them, sending debris flying in every direction. The entire building shook and then began to cave in, pouring concrete and glass out into the street. As the whole building groaned and collapsed outwards towards the combatants, Deinos dived backwards as Sensei himself turned and ran for the harbour, seeing his chance to escape.

Sensei ran without looking back until he got to the port, but as he was approaching the boat, the piercing voice of the youth called out to him,

"Your luck never seems to run out, does it? You'll never escape me Sensei! I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth!"

Sensei leapt aboard the small ship and they set sail at once. As Kanbei and Hachi busied themselves with the billowing white sail, Sensei stood in silence, staring back as Yellow Comet itself seemed to retreat and ebb away. He looked at the horizon and saw the long plumes of smoke curling up into the heavens as the town in front of him collapsed. Wondering what new disasters had already befallen the crippled land, he let a single tear fall before turning his back on the country he had gained and lost, focusing on what he now had to do.

* * *

Far to the south of the country, a young boy was playing in his bedroom. He had deep blue eyes and silver hair with white streaks. He looked up as he heard a banging on the front door. He wondered for a minute why his father wasn't answering before getting back to the more pressing matter of his painted wooden blocks, as he wasn't allowed to answer the door unless his father was there. The regional governor that Sensei had entrusted Phoenix to entered the room and smiled at the boy. He had truly become his child. Phoenix turned around and smiled back, throwing himself at his father and hugging him. The governor hugged him back and kneeled down next to him, 

"How are you, Phoenix? That's a mighty impressive town!" he said, pointing at the buildings that Phoenix had built. Phoenix nodded happily as the governor continued,

"I want you to promise that whatever happens, you'll be a good boy, ok?"

"Yes father"

"I promise that things will be fine in the end. I love you Phoenix"

"I love you too father"

Phoenix watched his father leave and heard him go to the door. As he went back to his town, Phoenix heard shouts from downstairs. He ran out of his room and looked down into the expansive entrance hall from the top of the stairs. The door was wide open and Phoenix couldn't see anyone. He curiously moved downstairs and went to the door.

Two men in black uniforms had seized his father, and were pushing him into an armoured car. The governor looked at Phoenix helplessly. The young child ran out, screaming loudly,

"Father! Father!"

The remaining three Black Hole soldiers laughed at him. One of them strolled over and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up off the ground and throwing him onto his back. Phoenix was back up in a second and running at the car. Another soldier grabbed him, holding him back as Phoenix kept screaming. One of the soldiers casually commented,

"It's just some kid. Let's go"

Phoenix struggled against the soldier that was holding him, lashing out with frantic blows, sobbing at the same time. He didn't see the soldier come up behind him. He heard the crack as the butt of the rifle struck his neck. He fell, the world spinning. He weakly raised his head and saw the car leaving, his father's face in the back window as the recon unit carried him out of Phoenix's life.

Phoenix tried to get to his feet. As he got to his knees, the world swayed again and he collapsed, darkness covering his eyes.


	12. The Moth

Ho ho ho y'all, and welcome back to Soaring too close to the Sun. Think of this chapter as a Christmas present for all my lovely loyal readers! And, if that wasn't enough, the review bribe this chapter is Christmas… and if that seems naff, a glass of Ribena – who doesn't like Ribena?

Anyway, a few notes to be made. First, for anyone who got confused about a fic called 'An Open Letter' that disappeared rather quickly, it was a rant about BlackHoleCO's comments in the review of 'Cute Girl', in which he attacked the fandom in general. It was posted in anger and, though I fully believe everything it contained, a non-story rant is against the ff rules, so I took it down.

Also, in an odd twist, this isn't wholly my writing in this chapter, but Jen, who long time readers will know as my Muse and the guardian of Adder, did help me with about half of it, as my knowledge of samurai culture is flimsy next to her own, so thanks to her!

Question; are there too many original characters in here? I'm sorry if it's bordering on non AW literature, but there are so many holes to be plugged that I feel I have no choice. Nestor will show up again, and have a big role, and Deinos… well, he's cool and I like him. Deal.

Anyway, read, enjoy, and leave me a review as a Christmas present (albeit a belated one), ok?

Jon Foulds

Time passed.

Sensei, Kanbei and Hachi slipped away from Yellow Comet and evaded the Black Hole fleet. Deinos spent months trying to track them down, but in the end was forced to concede that they could be anyway, as there was nothing to stop them travelling as far as Orange Star territory, or even putting back into shore further down the coast in Yellow Coast. Deinos abandoned his search and returned to Black Hole, but he did not forget his promise to hunt down the former Emperor.

Yellow Comet was fully occupied without any difficulty. No countries sent any aid. Blue Moon lacked the resources to do so. Orange Star considered that if Black Hole was potentially aggressive then antagonising them would not be wise. Green Earth had been worried by Yellow Comet's expansion anyway. As the Green Earth Government noted, Yellow Comet had made the first act of aggression. The democratic Green Earth citizens had never been the greatest supporters of Yellow Comet's autocracy. The fact that one tyrant was being replaced by another was of little significance to them. Anyway, if Black Hole was busy with Yellow Comet then Green Earth was safe.

The news of the occupation panicked the scientist, who alone knew the truth about Phoenix. Following the occupation of Yellow Comet, a scientist with a secret weapon suddenly became very popular, and within months he was in regular correspondence with the most influential men in the whole of Green Earth. With his newly forged connections he immediately sent in a team of covert operatives to retrieve the boy. They traced him to a large mansion in the south of the country, but the house was abandoned. There had been clear signs of a military presence and a brief struggle shortly before they arrived. The scientist continued his frenzied search for the child for years without success.

Phoenix's father was publicly executed, along with several hundred other officials and military leaders. They bodies were left to rot outside the Yellow Comet capital to serve as a warning to potential dissidents.

Ami joined up with a group of surviving diplomats in the Yellow Comet capital and did what she could to restore order. Though her efforts were largely in vain, she did successfully act as a mediator in several struggles between Yellow Comet citizens and Black Hole infantry, stopping much unnecessary bloodshed.

Kanbei visited his wife when he could, sneaking back into the country in cargo ships. Five years later, Ami became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Sonja. Kanbei stayed with her throughout the pregnancy, and it pained him to leave again, but he had to do his duty. They decided that Sonja should stay with Ami in the Yellow Comet capital as the fighting had died down, whereas Kanbei was still being hunted by Black Hole.

Black Hole imposed strict military sanctions on Yellow Comet, shutting down all bases and deployment facilities. However, they were unable to discover caches of equipment that they suspected had been made during the occupation. Their greatest success was in the airforce, where they managed to shoot down or capture almost every B-copter in Yellow Comet. Only a single helicopter continued to elude them for years, constantly appearing and attacking Black Hole installations and then vanishing again. The pilot became a legendary hero throughout Yellow Comet, and yet nobody knew who he was, but Nestor liked it that way.

Black Hole withdrew most of its forces in time, but Yellow Comet's strength was so exhausted that it could not possibly resist even the relatively small number of troops left. As any attempts at forming a Government failed, the country split back into the small regions and clans that had existed while Sensei was still a private.

Time passed.

* * *

It had been nine years since the occupation of Yellow Comet. At the very northern tip of Green Earth, Kanbei sat in total silence. He had matured into a far more heroic figure in the last decade. He was stronger and wiser. He stood confident in his strength, proud of his skills. He looked very similar to how he had years before, but now had a small amount of facial hair. Now he focussed totally on the task at hand, straining to remain perfectly still. 

Kanbei, Hachi and Sensei had been living for nine years in what they had only ever known as the Sanctuary. Kanbei remembered the first time he had ever seen it. As the boat had pulled towards the land, the ancient structure had stood proudly at the summit of the sheer cliffs that lined the coast. Even Sensei didn't know who had built the beautiful temple. It was made of light golden stone that glittered in the morning sun. The building was basically a single storey square structure with an uncovered central courtyard, which Kanbei often meditated in.

At other times he might practise his skills with a rifle or sword, or perform exercises in tactical proficiency, in which he would be given a scenario by Sensei, which he tried to figure out the solution to. Failure didn't officially end in punishment, but Kanbei had grown to expect to be worked harder if he fell short of the mark. It was quite possibly because of another failure that he was in his present painful situation.

The Sanctuary had enough room for the three men to live comfortably, and Hachi used his connections in Green Earth to get food and other supplies. Tunnels led down from inside the structure to an immense natural cave, which the sea flowed into. It was an old escape route, Sensei suspected, which was how they had entered the Sanctuary for the first time. The boat was still tied up in there, ready to leave at a moment's notice.

In a heavily wooded area near the Sanctuary, no birds sung in trees blackened by years of Green Earth's industrial expansion. Wearing his yellow practice robes, the General Kanbei stood motionless on a rock in a clearing, a wooden katana held out in front of his body in the traditional, ready stance. Having stood in the same position for twelve hours on end, as the sun faded he was attempting to calm his mind into the zanshin state, ignoring his strained muscles and trying to become one with the heavy blade.

He sighed. Today, his mind was too full of other things. His wife, his daughter, his homeland. He wondered if he would ever be with them again for good. There had been visits, of course. Even Sensei could not have kept him away from Ami during her pregnancy. Hachi, the only man among those at the Sanctuary who was not being hunted by Black Hole, as he had not been present at the fateful battle and his role had not been strictly military, had been able to provide occasional communications with Kanbei's family.

Still, his reasons for leaving had been so clear nine years ago, but now Kanbei ached to be back there and all that stood in his way was a stubborn old man. He longed to go back to Yellow Comet, to rid the land of the Black Hole plague and make life safe for his wife and family. He knew he could do it, single-handedly if need be, but instead he had to hide here, learning Sensei's archaic Bushido, the Way of the Samurai, waiting until the old man pronounced him ready.

As much as Kanbei tried to clear his mind, he could not. As well as dwelling on his family and revenge, part of him wondered whether he would be left here all night, whether Sensei had given up on this exercise hours ago and ambled inside for some green tea with Hachi. As fearsome a warrior as Sensei had been nine years ago, even right up until that fateful last battle, Kanbei sometimes wondered if he had not surpassed his master, if Sensei was going slightly senile.

The general lowered his sword and went to step down from the rock. Swift as summer lightens, Sensei was upon him. The clatter of wooden swords broke the forest's silence. Sensei shouted over the blades. "It is the Way of the Samurai," the clack of wood beating wood, "To be always on one's guard!"

With a feint, a flick of his wrist and an upward stroke, Sensei disarmed the younger man, and then lent upon the hilt of his own sword, "Pick it up" He paused, as if for breath, "What was the purpose of that exercise? What did it teach you?"

Kanbei knelt to pick up his sword, knowing he should be ashamed, but actually feeling more anger,

"Patience, Master"

"Did it? Did it teach you patience? I saw you step down Kanbei, did I not?"

Kanbei, feeling his head ought to lowered in shame, glanced briefly at his master. Sensei had changed a lot in these nine years. Though he was still active and a fine warrior, everyday he appeared older and more tired. He often napped during the days. His face was covered in wrinkles. His hair was completely white, and it was rapidly receding. Everyday he looked sad or depressed. Kanbei lowered his head,

"I'm sorry Sensei"

"I want you to do it again"

Kanbei raised his chin and glared at Sensei, "Again? How long will you leave me to simmer this time?"

"As long as it takes." The frustration and sudden fleeting hatred in his pupil's eyes did not scare Sensei, as they had argued like this many a time as Kanbei had grown older. Sensei sighed to himself as Kanbei fumed silently. It was inevitable that this would happen.

Kanbei had too many connections and ties to his old life to ever fully immerse himself in his training. Sensei had been wholly severed from his old life, and the thought of returning to it was painful, but Kanbei was far too eager to get back to his as soon as possible. Kanbei shook his head and turned away for a moment, trying to count to ten, but then, at about three, turned back and almost yelled,

"Either we leave tonight or I leave alone."

"We have been through this before, and asking that question seems to be the only skill you have completely mastered in nine years"

"Nine years! Yes, nine whole years, and I'm missing my daughter growing up!"

"What is more important, the love of your family or the eventual fate of your homeland?"

Sensei regretted asking the question immediately. The answer of a true samurai would have been quick and without hesitation, though many past masters had been married with children. Kanbei stood there, still furious, unable to answer. Sensei knew that this wasn't because he couldn't choose. Kanbei was silent as he knew his answer was Ami and Sonja. What was even worse, in Sensei's opinion, was that Kanbei knew what the right answer was, and why it was the right answer, but rejected it anyway,

"We will return soon, and when we return it will be with honour"

"You wish to live and die this way then? There's no honour in hiding!"

"We are not hiding. We're biding our time. The Samurai who wades into a river without knowing what lurks there will not last long. Only the learned warrior may pass the trials that face him"

"I've not heard that one before, and you are hiding." Kanbei spat the words, "You're ashamed to go back there, you don't intend to! Who are you to preach about only going in when you're ready! You walked straight into an ambush and destroyed the whole army with your folly! You were disgraced, and you intend to bring myself and Hachi with you into disgrace! Are we here to provide you with company in your self-imposed exile? And now you think that ancient sword techniques are going to make everything better? You're just hiding from reality as well! You ran away from your mistakes, you… all those people… it was your fault, and now you take comfort in playing the benevolent sensei! It's absurd!"

The two men faced each other. Sensei's face didn't harden and no rage showed. Kanbei quickly felt awkward as Sensei turned away and walked off with a slight limp, which, Kanbei remembered, he had only got from rescuing Kanbei when the pair had been confronted by a pair of Black Hole infantry. It had been a stark reminder of how close they were to death every single day with Black Hole after them. Kanbei realised that he had gone too far. He sometimes used Sensei as a scapegoat for all his problems. Sometimes he hated his lot in life, as he never asked for any of this. But Sensei had meant well, and Kanbei knew it.

Kanbei didn't know what to do. As usual, his master was in control of the situation and Kanbei felt like a small child, completely lost and helpless, relying completely on Sensei to clear up the mess he had just made. After an uncomfortable pause for Kanbei in which Sensei wistfully stared at something he had picked up out of the grass, Kanbei approached his master.

As Sensei had known it would, curiosity got the better of Kanbei. The katana that had briefly been raised aggressively at Sensei had fallen to his side, and Kanbei asked sheepishly,

"What is it?"

Sensei held in the middle of his hand a silver cocoon, and he indicated to a gap in the silk, but seemed to talk to himself. "See, it is a moth already, not an earth-bound caterpillar and it struggles to leave the cocoon, knowing in its wings it is fated to fly. The cocoon however, opens slowly, nurturing it still. I could open the cocoon and free the creature easily, but, unprepared for the outside world," he paused, and glanced at Kanbei. "It would die"

Kanbei sighed exasperatedly, "Don't think I don't see through you and your little allegories. When can I leave my cocoon?"

"Next time you ask me, you won't be ready"

"Why?"

"Because the moth that is ready does not need to ask"

Sensei gently laid the cocoon back on the ground with a smile and walked back towards the Sanctuary in the evening light. Kanbei moved to follow him, but Sensei, not turning around, raised a hand. Kanbei, glaring at his master, adopted the ready stance and closed his eyes. It would be a long night.


	13. From the Ashes

Hey y'all, welcome back to Soaring, the story of Phoenix, Deinos, Ami, Nestor and others who aren't even faintly hinted at in the canon. Glorious indeed. By the way, if anyone is officially thinking 'Foulds you idiot! What are you doing?' after thinking about my proposed timeline, don't worry. I have put MUCH thought into what could logically and reasonably happen at what point, so don't worry, because everything will be explained.

Oh yes, a quick note for this chapter. To make it nice and simple, Phoenix's flashbacks will be IN ITALICS. All normal text is the present. Ok?

Anyway, the review bribe for this chapter is yet more Ribena. Well it's not like anyone could ever have too much Ribena, right? Please do review, not just for Ribena, but also so that I feel warm and fuzzy inside. Anyway, read, enjoy and review.

All the best, Jon Foulds

A tall grey-haired old man sat on a leather armchair, hunched over and involuntarily trembling. He obsessively looked around the unfamiliar office once more, everywhere seeing a potential trick or ambush. The scientist wasn't accustomed to leaving his own personal chambers, which were well hidden and guarded at all times. He had insisted on research labs being built so he didn't have to leave the sound boundaries of his home. Nobody quite knew what caused this hysterical craving for secure precautions, but it was whispered among the politicians that knew him best that it was something to do with the infamous Black Hole air strike.

The scientist glanced around. He hated politicians. You couldn't trust them, and he never would again. He would be in control of his research, and nobody would take it from him. Nobody. He surrounded himself with armed guards who were totally loyal. The Green Earth Government were perfectly happy to quietly divert funds or resources to him, but he had insisted that they organise nothing. He arranged everything personally. He was known to spend whole evenings going over staff lists or reading through and double-checking account details. He had once let somebody control his life, and he had paid a terrible price. Never again.

The downside of being funded by the Government was meetings like this, he mused, still shaking. The robed demon had requested progress reports too. They were all the same, whether Green Earth or Black Hole. Whether in a black robe or a suit, all anyone ever wanted was to take advantage of him.

A door handle turned slowly after a series of knocks. The visitor knew the scientist well. He opened the door slowly, and walked past the scientist to his desk. He slowly put his hand forwards to shake hands with his guest, but the scientist nonetheless flinched away. The politician, wearing a pressed navy suit and white shirt, sat down with a forced smile,

"Good morning"

The scientist nodded, and the politician continued,

"I was approached by one of my aides. He brought me grave news from Yellow Comet. It seems there has been a small incident. A covert unit of Green Earth infantry, which had been deployed in Yellow Comet territory, was ambushed by Black Hole infantry. We have three men down, and another in a critical state. They were sent in to find the Phoenix Project"

"What are you saying?"

"This is the second such incident in the last year. And yet, though the death toll is now over twenty, you persist in this futile search. You admit yourself that you don't know where he might be, or what he even looks like"

"You ignorant bureaucrat! Don't you understand? This isn't just a walking genetic plan! He isn't just an exceptional human specimen! Do you have any idea what the Phoenix Gene could do?"

"It is isolated, yes?"

"But if he falls into Black Hole's hands, then… then…"

"Sending in troops after this man won't help that. Our intelligence bureau is doing what it can, but I am withdrawing your power to dispatch armed forces outside of Green Earth territory. We want real results"

"I am working as well as I can. Remember that I have to start again from nothing without Phoenix"

"You have had years"

"My new work is progressing. I think that this is a better course of action. Be aware that my work would be greatly improved by access to Phoenix, even the most degraded sample"

"What do you mean?"

"Even if he is… dead, I want his corpse"

"I'll see what we can do. Good day to you"

* * *

As the scientist continued his search, the people of Yellow Comet did what they could to carry on with their lives. Black Hole's presence wasn't overwhelming, but the country had lost its ability to resist even the smallest force some time ago. Any of the three other southern nations could have easily overthrown the Black Hole force in Yellow Comet, but they chose not to, fearing lest they turned Black Hole's anger against their own country. 

The few Yellow Comet soldiers who remained fought for themselves, not for their country, and too many men, curses on their own nation, took advantage of the anarchy that followed the power vacuum. They used their resources not against Black Hole, but against their fellow countrymen, unaccountable for their murderous actions in a chaotic society that no longer knew anything but violence.

Towns crumbled, lives beyond measure were destroyed in cold blood, and Black Hole soldiers ruled with iron fists, doing as they pleased, and the people had no choice but to persevere, many blaming Sensei himself for everything that Sturm had maliciously arranged.

On the eastern coast of Yellow Comet, hidden away in the dark back streets near a sprawling port, the murmur of human voices could be faintly heard in the dreary murky streets, emanating from behind a thick wooden door. Dripping water echoed through the quiet scene, alongside the scattered piles of debris and rubbish. Though it was late morning, the alley was shrouded with darkness, and a thin slice of clouded sky cast a grudging light between the tall stone buildings on every side.

Behind the heavy door, flickering electrical lights lit up a large number of men sitting around tables. A long bar ran along one wall, and an old man poured drinks from dusty bottles. The long room was curiously better lit on one side than the other, which was filled with small alcoves in almost total darkness; many patrons preferred to conduct their business anonymously.

A heavily built man in a trench coat, who was making no attempt to hide the rifle at his side, sat beside the inside of the entrance. Security was more important these days, and most establishments hired the services of an armed guard. They weren't afraid of Black Hole. The danger was the many gangs that took advantage of the collapse of the nation's unified police force.

Crackling music quietly played through an old speaker, and low voices muttered indistinguishably amongst themselves. Grey smoke from various cigarettes snaked up and pervaded the tavern. A few slightly underdressed women circled the room in a group.

Yet in the corner, a young man sat alone, an empty glass in front of him on a dark wooden table. The women passed him by in silence; he was a regular, and they knew he always refused their services. As always, his blue eyes were resolutely focussed on the wall opposite him, though nobody knew what he was staring at, if anything.

Phoenix dressed plainly. A simple long black coat covered most of his body, and other than that he wore leather gauntlets and black boots.

A single coarse voice rose up above the murmur of hushed speech. A well built man, a woman on each arm, swaying unsteadily, sat at the bar. Phoenix was largely unaware of the man. His mind was elsewhere. Admittedly, Phoenix was quite aware that his mind was always elsewhere, but he was especially vacant today.

By chance, the drunken man spun around and his eyes settled on Phoenix's young and athletic body. He stumbled forwards, clearly looking for a fight, bellowing loudly,

"What's a pretty boy like you doing here? Little kids should stay home or they might get in trouble!"

Phoenix's eyes darted around the room. The armed guard by the door looked on with amusement, and the barman, an old grey haired man, shrugged apologetically at Phoenix as the drunkard staggered at him, fists raised. Phoenix noticed that there was an unusual silence. Bar fights were normally accompanied by cheering and shouting, and the combatants would be surrounded by other jeering drunks. Everyone in the bar was silent, looking at the spectacle.

Phoenix, still sitting, watched the man approach. He was lashing out with strong but clumsy swings. Phoenix, sighing to himself, had no choice. He rose, side-stepped and seized the man's right hand at the wrist. As Phoenix threw him forwards, the man's chin smashed into the table, and Phoenix twisted his arm around his back. Phoenix quickly slammed his free elbow into the man's neck, who fell forwards. He was unconscious, and wouldn't suffer any permanent injuries.

Without another word, Phoenix walked from his table to the door, not meeting anybody's gaze. The doorman patted him on the back with a smile before letting him leave. Only after the door was closed again did conversation resume. In one darkened corner, two old patrons turned to each other,

"Who was that man?"

"Phoenix. Don't ask where he comes from. That one barely ever speaks"

"One of the soldiers?"

"No. He's far too young. He must have only been a boy at the occupation"

"He certainly dealt with that drunkard"

"Just like all the others. He does more work than the security. He lives here. I hear he once saved the barman's life"

"Is he a bodyguard?"

"No. He does whatever comes up"

* * *

Phoenix walked through the dark alleyways and out to the busy seafront. That episode in the bar had been unpleasant. If he could have had one wish for the day then it would have been for there to be no violence. Not today. Today was special, in a way. Today was the anniversary. 

He walked quickly through the streets and reached the edge of town. There had been no new building since the invasion. One could leave the city and find oneself in the countryside immediately. He ran through the woods that surrounded the town and found himself at the summit of a ridge that overlooked the port. The expansive house in front of him was destroyed, just like he had left it last year. Much of the initial damage caused by Black Hole still hadn't been repaired.

Phoenix hated violence at one level. His most vivid memories were of his father's disappearance. He had run, and then kept running. He had just wanted to run away until the pain inside stopped. Eventually he had become too exhausted to go on, but the pain continued anyway. It still did, nine years on.

He had made a life for himself. It wasn't perfect, but not much was in Yellow Comet these days. A lot of men had died when Black Hole invaded, both during the infamous battle and then throughout the occupation. There had been a huge shortage of labour. It had given Phoenix the means to survive. He did what he could for whoever would pay. He did favours in return for food and clothes. At the most basic and essential level, he survived.

Phoenix approached one of the ruined houses and pulled a rotting wooden plank out of place easily. There was a narrow passageway behind, which presumably used to lead to a side door into the house, before Black Hole had bombarded the region into surrender. Now the ground was uneven, and covered with chucks of concrete. The house's partial collapse had covered what had once been an open passage, and stone blocked out the sky.

Phoenix could see the light at the far end of the passageway, and he emerged into an overgrown garden. Weeds ran up the fence that surrounded the haven, and the grass had long since been replaced with soft moss. The youth walked down what had almost certainly been a beautiful paradise at some point, glancing at the pond that was choked with decaying leaves and algae. Yet the slightest piece of beauty remained. In a shaded corner, the ground was covered with beautiful yellow flowers, growing around a large piece of grey stone.

Phoenix hated violence at one level. He hated those that were violent. He feared violence. He feared the pain. And yet at another level… Everything had changed four years ago. Phoenix had only been fifteen. Still a mere boy. Back then, there had been far more Black Hole troops in the country. Their presence was necessary to quash small rebellions, but when there was peace, they were left to entertain themselves.

One of their games was to pick somebody at random and hunt them down. They weren't allowed to use guns, as that would make it too easy. Only knives were allowed in this game. And on this day, exactly four years ago, Phoenix had become their prey. All he knew was that he had been trying to find someone who would let him sleep there for the night in return for doing a few tasks. There had been a group of five Black Hole soldiers waiting in an alley. Then he was running.

He had managed to slip through the rubble of an old apartment block, and only one soldier had managed to follow him. The soldier had been fast, and Phoenix had sprinted out of the port, but he couldn't escape in the forest; it had still been too light. By chance he came across a house on the ridge. It looked like it had once been a luxurious villa for someone very rich, but money didn't count for much when Black Hole invaded. The whole building looked like it had slumped to one side, and there were high fences surrounding it. Phoenix hadn't exactly had a choice. He was out in the open on the ridge, and the soldier was behind him. He had to find somewhere to hide.

Phoenix had rushed through the gates and tried to open the front door. Finding it locked, he had no choice but to scramble through the collapsed passageway to the gardens. He could hear the soldier behind him, following him. Black Hole infantrymen weren't idiots. They were well trained, and knew how to follow somebody's trail. Emerging into an overgrown garden, he found he was trapped. The high fences now penned him in. He spun at once to see the grinning face of the Black Hole soldier emerge from the passageway, holding a combat knife in his right hand.

Phoenix had no choice. For the first time in his life he had to fight, and he was fighting for his life.

Phoenix hadn't known what to expect. He hadn't had a plan. He didn't know if this was going to be like the stories he had known as a child, where the hero would fight an epic battle with the villain on a rain soaked roof, accompanied by dramatic music. In fact, there was nothing in Phoenix's mind. Just an overwhelming urge to survive.

He couldn't really remember it. It had been a dream. All he knew was that the soldier had lunged at him with a knife, and then he raised his arms in defence. He had got hold of the handle of the knife, and struggled for control. And then there was silence. The soldier had looked at him. He had looked down.

Blood.

Phoenix ran.

Phoenix knelt down by the flat grey stone. A small white pot sat in front of it. He brushed his hands over the flowers, picking out the finest blooms. Comet Buds. That was what they were called. They had grown in his backyard when he was young. They flowered at this time every year, and every year he came and picked them. After he had gathered enough, he placed them in the vase, and sat, gazing at the grave. It's message was still true.

Phoenix had run back to town and hidden in the dark back streets. It was dangerous to sleep there – he knew that well enough – but he didn't care. He had taken a life. He had put a knife in the soldier's chest, and the soldier didn't live anymore. It was a such a simple concept to grasp, and that made it horrifying. Phoenix couldn't take consolation from the fact it was a Black Hole soldier. That didn't matter.

And yet it wasn't guilt that tormented him. That would have been easy. Then he could have felt guilty, repented and got over it. Phoenix's burden was that he had felt nothing. A man had died. It was awful. He knew it was awful. Killing was bad. It was the worst thing imaginable. And yet he didn't feel guilty. He felt like it was right. He felt complete. He felt like he had been born for this, and his whole existence had been leading up to this moment when his purpose in life had been revealed. He was death.

Phoenix had no choice. He had to face it. The next day, against his better judgement, haunted by the look in the dying man's eyes that Phoenix couldn't pity, the youth returned to the house.

The corpse lay where it had fallen. His unseeing eyes stared out, cold and dead. The wound was covered by black gore, and the knife was grasped tightly in the dead man's hand, his last act being to pull it out. Phoenix stared in horror. And yet it was not the sight that horrified him. He disgusted himself. He was staring at a corpse, which was dead because he had killed him, and which was foul and covered in blood, and he felt no revulsion. No pain. No guilt. It was as things should be. Phoenix didn't know what was wrong with him.

He had set up the grave and buried the body. On the stone, he wrote simply 'He died needlessly'.

Phoenix left the garden and climbed out the same way he had come. It had been four years since that day, and every year he came back. He wasn't exactly sure why. He felt that he ought to. He owed this man something, even if his innermost heart didn't think so. His heart was numb to the guilt it should have felt, but his mind decided that he ought to do something. It was fitting. And so every year he visited the grave, and replaced the flowers, and wondered who he really was.

Perhaps in the depths of his heart, Phoenix came to remind himself what he had done. He had come to remind himself what he could do again. That was why Phoenix never took a violent job. That was why he had forsaken all violence, and only used it when he had to, and even then he hated himself for doing it. The fight in the bar had been just another act of violence. He had been forced to stop himself. As the man fell forwards unconscious, he had run out because of what he felt. His heart had urged him to kill. His heart had screamed at him that the right thing would be to kill everyone. That was why Phoenix hated violence. It let his dark brutal urges come to the surface.

And yet Phoenix fought against it. He wouldn't let himself become the slave of his own impulses. He was a sick person, but he would conquer it. Just because he had these urges didn't mean he had to surrender to them. He showed that in the bar. In the end, he would be the person he chose to be, not the person he was born to be.

Phoenix strolled out of the house, and ambled across the ridge. He wasn't ready to go back to the town yet. He needed time to think. He sat down on a moss covered rock and stared out across the valley that was on the other side of the ridge from the town. It was peaceful.

But then he saw something in the distance. He didn't pay much attention. He assumed it was a few Black Hole B-copters out on patrol, or maybe training. He watched them approach, wondering where they were going. But then he noticed the faint sound of fire…

He stood up and looked more carefully. He couldn't believe his eyes. In the distance, pursued by two B-copters and a T-copter, was a single Yellow Comet B-copter. The last Yellow Comet attack helicopter. Phoenix watched in shock as the legendary Freedom Fighter, the invincible superhero, swung his B-copter from side to side, desperately trying to avoid the overwhelming amount of fire…


	14. Dark Origins

Hey y'all, welcome back to Soaring too close to the Sun, that story that just won't go away, no matter how much you hate it. Ok, I've got a few announcements.

This chapter may be considered foreshadowing. Indeed, I am contemplating putting up the sequel to Hawke's Vengeance very soon…

As for The Twilight Zone, yep, it was a mistake. But, as was pointed out, maybe it had a useful role. Therefore, I have set up a Livejournal community for exactly this purpose. I'm sure many of you are familiar with Livejournal, but for the rest of you, it's a free big message board thing (I believe the technical term is blogging). Check out Anyway, I've set up a community at

Advancewarsff (with underscores between advance and wars and ff, but doesn't seem to like them)

And if you can't find it, just look up Grit under search interests, as I've filled out the interests with the CO names. It's not exactly pretty yet, but I'm not good with computers, but Jen has promised to help me with it. And yes, there is another society for , which is a bugged and messed up one, so just find the one that contains entries already, ok?

The purpose of this community is to provide a more open forum than the review system allows. Quite simply, anybody can discuss a fic, put forwards ideas, run a plot suggestion past other people before settling on it, discuss characterisation to help others, and whatever really. Just to get the ball rolling, I've included a few posts and pics!

Anyway, I hope you check out the community!

All the best, Jon Foulds

At the very heart of Black Hole, entombed beneath the earth, lay the true home of the Black Hole nation. The caves from which the first ever Black Hole citizens had crawled out into the sunlight lay empty and abandoned now. Over these labyrinthine tunnels had risen the mighty citadel of Lord Sturm, and now the origin of the entire race lay in darkness and silence, abandoned and forgotten, crumbling away.

And yet today the natural caverns were walked once more. Two creatures stalked through the pitch-black tunnels. Sturm knew the way by experience. Deinos could easily follow his father, and a man with his skills was not afraid of the dark. Sturm's legs pushed him ever onwards, filling the tunnels with the echoing drone and whine of technology. Sturm looked exactly as he always did, and always would do.

Deinos paced quickly behind him. Time seemed to have been kind to Deinos. Sturm was reminded of old sensations when he looked at him. So much had changed, but Deinos was a shining example of what it meant to be a true Black Hole citizen. The fact that he barely seemed to have aged a day over these nine years was another gift from his noble ancestry. The glorious Black Hole citizens aged slowly. At least, those with pure blood did. Sturm didn't care about the filthy mongrels they kept as slaves. If they did deserve to live, a fact that Sturm was far from convinced about, then they certainly didn't deserve to carry the glorious title of Black Hole. Mere dogs, he considered, but even a dog is greater than a worm.

Sturm's thoughts focussed on earlier times and the Black Hole nation for a reason. As he glanced ahead, his visor detected a faint hint of light coming from further inside the tunnel. They were close to the destination; the very deepest cavern in Black Hole, and one with a secret. Sturm turned to Deinos. It was time to show him his heritage,

"Deinos"

The voice boomed through the silent corridors,

"Yes father"

"You are a part of a noble line, and you carry a noble title, but to be a Black Hole citizen is more than this. You have an incredible power, but you do not realise it yet. There was a time when I commanded such a power, but my control of it has faded over time. Your understanding, however, has only just begun"

The pair walked around a corner, and stopped in front of a metal door. A tiny slither of light escaped through the cracks. Sturm's arm reached forwards and tapped a button. The door grudgingly creaked open, swinging inwards.

Deinos was briefly taken aback. He hadn't expected this. From a pitch-black cave, he had walked into a magnificent hallway. The room was a huge passageway, far wider and taller than it ever needed to be. Every surface seemed to be covered with blue tiles, which shimmered as the dim light from wall mounted blue orbs gleamed. Deinos had never seen anything like this before, and Black Hole would be the last place he'd have ever looked for something so wonderful,

"What is this place?" he exclaimed, perhaps too excitedly.

"A mere room" returned Sturm. His tone was the same as ever, but his wording suggested a disapproval of Deinos' enthusiasm,

"This is the very heart of our nation. Once, long ago, it was a shrine. The people had a respect for the earth that had nurtured them. We have evolved past that foolish superstition now. However, there seemed little point in removing the paraphernalia of the shrine"

"What happened?"

"The White Sun was not the only obstacle that our nation faced. Several challenges arose at once. When Black Hole recovered, there was a new order. By then, the shrine had been sealed. A new use was found for it"

Deinos was about to ask more about Black Hole's history, but Sturm walked towards one of the walls, and beckoned Deinos to follow him. Deinos was, though he now did all he could to hide it, still quite excited. His father had never told him about Black Hole's history in depth. It was only to be expected. It was a painful memory. Maybe now he could learn the truth.

Sturm stopped in front of one of the tiles. Deinos, now closer to it, noticed that the tile was in fact a window. As he was about to glance through, Sturm spoke again,

"The power you have is immense, but it is beyond the perception of most individuals. A great force is locked within your mind. Though you cannot use it yet, it is still active. You do not realise it, but I already know that you could become a powerful Black Hole citizen, with abilities beyond what you can imagine. However, there are those who are sensitive to it"

Sturm gestured at the window. It looked over a featureless pit. Huddled in a corner, rocking back and forth, was a man, his head grasped so tightly in his hands that Deinos could see deep gashes that the man had unwittingly scratched into his own face. His countenance was blank, his stare haunting, his body lifeless. Only the faintest hint of movement convinced Deinos that he was alive. Deinos didn't react. He had seen worse than this in his time, but, he had to concede, not by much. Sturm continued,

"The minds of all Black Hole citizens produce a great amount of energy, which we can learn to focus and use. This dog is a rare specimen. His noble Black Hole blood has only been partially tainted. He is still able to sense our power, though he cannot use it. His mind is too weak to cope with the energy"

"How does he survive?"

"His body died long ago. The energy keeps his mind alive"

"Why can't I sense this power?"

"It is the way things are. Some are born with the gift. Others must learn it. That is why I have brought you here. Follow me"

Sturm proceeded to the end of the corridor, where the room narrowed to a thin archway. Behind it, Deinos could see a huge dome shaped room, more dimly lit than the corridor. He noticed steps leading down to the floor, but he couldn't see what was at the bottom. Deinos waited for his father to step through. Sturm turned away from the arch,

"I cannot enter that room. Go alone"

Deinos walked forwards tentatively. A slight hint of fear crept up on him now. He stepped into the room and gazed at the beautiful shimmering dome shaped ceiling. He noticed that there were no lights. The ceiling was shimmering on its own. Deinos didn't know what to make of all of this, but this chamber was strongly tied to the power of Black Hole. Deinos, reaching the top of the stairs, looked down.

Then he saw her.

She was at the same time the most beautiful and dreadful creature that Deinos had ever seen.

In the very centre of the room, at the base of the intricately carved steps, was what appeared to be a coffin made of the same blue shimmering stone that made up the whole area. The woman lay in the coffin, staring at the ceiling. It was full of what appeared to be light blue vapour, which wafted around her.

The woman's body was perfect. Her soft white skin carried no blemish. Her long black hair waved around her. Though a single purple robe covered her body, Deinos, though normally above such thoughts, couldn't help but admire her figure. Her lips looked so silky and inviting,

"Deinos. Do not let your mind focus entirely on her. Stronger men than you have made that mistake. As a Black Hole citizen, you have adequate mental shields against her, but she may still be able to manipulate you if you let her"

Deinos, keeping his mind focussed on military matters, noticed her eyes. They were dark brown, like his own, but they flickered madly, bloodshot, perhaps betraying the rage that lurked inside her. Deinos turned to Sturm,

"What is this place?"

"This room has a power we have never understood. Long ago it created our race, and granted us its power. It was discovered that it could also be used to contain this same power"

"Who is she?"

"That doesn't matter anymore. I cannot enter this chamber. Her power is contained within these boundaries. Tiny quantities escape, and I keep that dog here to monitor it. He will let me see if there is any change in her state"

"And how has she survived?"

"I do not know. Perhaps she is too powerful to die"

"Why did you bring me here?"

"I wanted you to see the power that you could have firsthand, so that you can see what you might achieve"

"I… I can't feel anything"

"Be calm, and open your mind"

Deinos stood, trying to clear his mind of all thought. He still couldn't sense anything. He stood there, listening for any clue that-

EVER WANTED JOIN MIGHTY CRUSH ALL BURNT OUR NATION FREE DEATH MY VENGEANCE ALL TRAPPED FOREVER HEAR ALL STURM WHY HOW I THOUGHT NO LONGER FINISH THE WORK FOREVER

Deinos fell backwards, slashing frantically at the air with his rapier, hearing the voice fading to nothing in his mind. He looked around. He was back outside the archway. He must have instinctively run. He sheathed his blade, trying to maintain his dignity, and rose to his feet. Sturm began walking away from the woman, whoever she was,

"You sensed her power"

"It… It was…"

"Indescribable"

"Yes"

"It is time to begin your training in the arts of Black Hole"

* * *

Nestor wrestled with the controls, trying desperately to regain altitude. His precious B-copter was, quite literally, falling apart. Nine years though, he considered. It wasn't a bad amount to evade the Black Hole army, whatever happened today. He remembered when he first started this freedom fighter movement. 

Back then, people had been clamouring to join him. As the years went by, they'd all left. Eventually his own co-pilot decided to try and rebuild a normal life. Nestor had long since adjusted the craft to be a one man B-copter. On the plus side, it had meant there was more leg room.

The Yellow Comet B-copter never stood a chance. For all his skill, Nestor was outnumbered. The Black Hole pilots fired relentlessly, constantly raking his craft with fire, but never hitting anything vital. Finally, a stray bullet sheared off the tail completely, punching Nestor's helicopter forwards and into a spin. Unable to manoeuvre at all, the crippled B-copter, the last air unit of Sensei's once great army, slammed into the top of the forest canopy below, and fell through the layers of branches, each blow further shattering the armour and tearing apart the surprisingly delicate attack helicopter.

The helicopter's scattered parts rained down on the forest floor. Inside the cockpit, Nestor slumped forwards in his seat, held in place by his restraints, completely unconscious.

* * *

The two B-copters circled overhead. The forest was too dense. They couldn't see anything. Smiling to himself, the pilot of the T-copter flicked on his radio, 

"Laboratory GT-YC 07, can you hear me?"

"Copy that Alpha Team"

"Enemy aircraft has been neutralised over forestation. Requesting authorisation to deploy one unit for reconnaissance and possible combat data"

"Permission granted"

The pilot flicked off his radio. He pointed to a nearby clearing as he spoke to his co-pilot,

"There's a good space"

He stood up and walked through the door to the back of the T-copter. Sitting motionlessly in perfect silence, their faces covered by dark visors, were the troops. They accepted any order without question. They didn't feel fear. They worked as efficiently as a machine. The commander felt the helicopter jerk forwards as it touched down,

"All units, search and destroy"

"Yes sir" returned the identical voices coldly. They stood up, seized their weapons, and leapt out of the door, disappearing into the woods at a sprint.

* * *

Phoenix surveyed the destruction with amazement. The ruins of the Freedom Fighter's B-copter were scattered across the forest floor, smouldering and utterly destroyed. He looked around again. His eyes settled on what he had just assumed to be a hunk of scrap metal. An arm was visible. 

Phoenix sprinted over to it. The Freedom Fighter himself was slumped in the chair. Phoenix, as he pulled off the restraints to get him free, allowed himself a moment to evaluate the man. Phoenix admitted that he had expected somebody slightly more heroic. The man looked about forty. He had long brown hair that looked like it hadn't been combed, never mind washed or cut, for months. A pair of old goggles hung around his neck. Phoenix, removing the last strap, began to pull the pilot out of his seat. He glanced at his clothes, even though they were filthy, and saw that he was wearing one of the old Yellow Comet military overalls. A strip on his arm revealed his name,

"Well then Nestor, I think it's time we left"

As Phoenix, now carrying Nestor on his back as quickly as he could manage, was about to take him back the way he had come, he froze. There was somebody else here. He retreated back into the partially intact remains of the cockpit, and hid himself and Nestor out of view. He glanced out. Five soldiers had entered the area, and they were searching through the wreckage.

Phoenix urgently began to shake Nestor, but he was completely out cold. The silver haired youth took another glance out at the soldiers. They were armed, and working their way towards him. Phoenix couldn't see any escape,

"This is not good…"


	15. Under the Surface

Hey y'all. Welcome back to Soaring too close to the Sun, which has been revived due to sudden flurry of interest. The whole thing is fully planned out, but will not be taking into account any of Advance Wars DS, which is itself the reason why much of the final part of the trilogy may, sadly, never appear. In addition, many of the ideas I had were merged into the short-lived joint project I attempted to start. While I mull over that, however, feel free to clasp Soaring to your bosom, and read, enjoy, and review.

Jon

Phoenix breathed fast, his own heartbeat pumping in his ears, as the Black Hole soldiers spread out through the overgrowth. He could hear them treading through the bracken. Carefully, he edged backwards, taking shelter behind a tree, dragging Nestor with him, trying to get into the cover of the overgrown bushes. Absolutely certain that the soldiers had to have heard him, he crouched down, sweating and gasping, suddenly very aware of how much noise he was making just by breathing.

Crack

Phoenix breathed in sharply, glancing over his shoulder. One of the soldiers was behind him, a broken twig having given him away. In fact, the five had completely surrounded him, and were now moving inwards, searching through the long ferns and shrubs with an almost mechanical efficiency. It suddenly struck him that he hadn't heard a single order being shouted between them. He took a moment to peer out between leaves, and froze. He had no idea what they were. Helmets with a dark tinted visor utterly disguised their faces. Each of them had a machine gun seemingly fused to their arm; the gun itself was sleek and black, and more fierce than anything Phoenix had come across before.

He went back to Nestor as they drew closer, shaking him as hard as he could without making his presence obvious. Nestor continued to lie on the soft ground, his body limp. Phoenix didn't need to glance up; he could hear the soldiers approaching his hiding place.

Something caught his eye. A holster hung from Nestor's side, an old fashioned revolver appearing from the top. Such things weren't standard-issue, but most airmen carried a weapon in case they were shot down in enemy territory. Phoenix reached over and took it, balancing the need to hurry with the need to be quiet. He tentatively drew the weapon with his right hand, fully aware that he had never used a revolver before.

'_Is it loaded?_' he silently asked himself. Without another thought, he flicked open the weapon with his left hand, revealing three bullets inside. Snapping it shut again, he instinctively rolled the chamber with such perfect weight that it clicked into place, loaded and ready to go. He stared at his hand for a minute. He had no idea how he had known what to do.

Bracing himself, he peered out at the nearest two soldiers. Despite his fear, his hand wasn't shaking. He raised the gun, closed one eye to aim, and fired.

Boom

The first bullet smashed into the black visor of the nearest soldier, the impact literally knocking him off his feet, throwing him backwards. A mist of black liquid sprayed out of the cracked helmet, but Phoenix had no time to think about what the soldiers were now. The deafening explosion of noise caused a group of birds to scatter, which the remaining troops, reacting to the motion, fired at with their sleek arm-mounted guns. In the chaos, Phoenix swung his revolver to the left, towards the next soldier. This time he didn't consciously aim, but fired on instinct. Again, the bullet found its target, slamming into the chest of the Black Hole clone trooper with a dull thud, killing it instantly. This time, the Black Hole troops weren't fooled. Machine gun fire, more rapid and powerful than any weapon ever used in Yellow Comet before, raked the forest floor, shattering mossy tree stumps, tearing up the ground.

'_Move_' suggested a voice in Phoenix's head. He obeyed it without question, scrambling to his feet and running over open ground, the fire smashing the ground he had been running on moments before. Throwing himself behind a tree, he crouched, covering his face as shards of bark and specks of mud that the gunfire had kicked up rained down on him. It was clear that these machine guns would literally tear through the tree in moments.

Suddenly, a new roar filled the battlefield. He glanced around; the plants around him were shifting in a sudden wind. One of the Black Hole B-copters was circling directly above the battle, drawn to the noise of the firefight.

"One bullet against three troops and a B-copter. What now?" Phoenix muttered in desperation as the hail of fire showed no sign of abating.

'_The helicopter_' replied a calm voice inside his head.

"How the hell am I supposed to-" snapped Phoenix angrily, ignoring the fact he was talking to himself.

'_The fuel tank. Below the cockpit, to the left. A revolver bullet will pierce it._'

Phoenix blinked. He didn't know anything about Black Hole military equipment. He had clearly gone insane, he considered. Then again, he didn't exactly have any better ideas. Throwing himself out from his cover, just as the machine guns tore through the bark, causing the tree to fall, he raised his revolver at the forest canopy, barely able to see the helicopter's position, and pulled the trigger.

The result was instant and incredible. The helicopter didn't completely explode, but was blown sideways, its main fuel tank blasting the helicopter into a spin. It crashed through the trees, its otherwise undamaged frame not breaking up as Nestor's B-copter had, while burning fuel poured out of the shattered helicopter. Their strict training to focus only on their target meant that the Black Hole troops didn't even see the B-copter falling towards them, until it smashed into the mossy ground, the body crumpling, its windows exploding, its propellers striking the ground and throwing up vast waves of earth before grinding to a halt.

Phoenix slowly rose from the ground, where he had fallen after the explosion. A single Black Hole troop remained, walking calmly around the wreckage that had just crushed two of his allies, as if the entire event hadn't perturbed him in the slightest. Phoenix's revolver was up in a moment, but the weapon responded to him pulling the trigger with a quiet click. It was empty.

Phoenix watched as the soldier raised his arm-mounted weapon. Then the Black Hole trooper froze. Phoenix couldn't understand why. After another moment, he seemed to be struggling, flailing his arms at an invisible enemy. Finally, losing consciousness, he slumped to his knees, revealing behind him, the battered form of Nestor. The Yellow Comet pilot had his lucky goggles in his hand; he had just throttled the Black Hole soldier with the strap.

Phoenix continued to stand still, staring dumbly around him, taking in the carnage. Nestor picked his way over the body and round the tail of the shattered Black Hole B-copter, approaching Phoenix. He took the revolver from the boy's hand without demanding it, and Phoenix let him take it without resistance.

"Come on," said Nestor shortly as the dull roar of a distant helicopter could be heard in the silent forest, "We have to go before reinforcements arrive."

* * *

Phoenix and Nestor sat in silence in a small cave at the edge of the valley. The journey had been fairly easy in terms of terrain, even with Nestor's minor injuries, but uncomfortable from the constant silence. Now Phoenix gazed vacantly out of the cave entrance at the fading light of the afternoon, his mind elsewhere, going over a hundred different things that had happened that day. Nestor meanwhile looked over the boy, appraising him in silence, while tending to cuts and bruises.

"What's your name?"

"Phoenix."

"You did well today," commented Nestor with a forced warmth; he knew well enough that the experience couldn't have been pleasant for the boy.

"What were they?" asked Phoenix, barely even hearing Nestor's words, and still staring out into the sky.

"Black Hole troops, sent after me. They aren't human."

Phoenix met Nestor's gaze for a moment and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Were you a part of the army?" Nestor asked after a pause, struggling to figure out Phoenix's age; his face looked older than he was, and the silver hair didn't exactly give the impression of youth. Phoenix shook his head in silence. Nestor considered the boy again, "You took down a helicopter with one bullet. How did you do that?"

"I don't know," replied Phoenix honestly. He was quite aware that it was actually because a voice had told him to, but that in itself was something of a mystery. "I suppose it was kind of by instinct."

"Instinct…" mused Nestor, "I've heard of people having a knack for flying, but never anything like this."

"So, what were they exactly?" asked Phoenix again. Nestor could see that the guilt of killing them was a burden for the boy.

"I can tell you," the pilot replied, "But only if you come with me."

Nestor rose and walked towards the cave's entrance. Phoenix followed immediately.

* * *

The pair lay on the top of the ridge, as the sun glowed red on the western horizon. Nestor passed a pair of powerful binoculars to Phoenix, who looked down across the plain; he could see a military complex of some sort at the foot of a nearby mountain without the binoculars, but it hardly stood out; Black Hole had hundreds of small bases and outposts constructed throughout Yellow Comet. He studied the base through the binoculars. The base seemed to be built into the mountain. A small security force of infantry soldiers were patrolling lazily, slowly wandering around the base, looking quite bored. They were so different from the masked soldiers that Phoenix had fought earlier.

"Look at the ground around the complex," suggested Nestor. Phoenix did so, taking a minute to notice what was wrong; the earth was covered with muddy tyre tracks, leading from the base to a nearby forest.

"Recon units," replied Phoenix.

"Maybe…" Nestor remarked cryptically, "I heard strange reports during the battle against Black Hole on the northern frontier. Garbled reports suggested a new type of artillery, which could shoot almost twice as far as our existing model. If such a thing exists, I'd guess that they'd be in that forest."

"Why?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I have a few theories, but I could be wrong. I believe, however, that this place is rather more important to Black Hole than the token infantry force suggests. The key to hiding something, Phoenix, is to put exactly where everybody can see it. If they had a huge force crawling all over it, people would get suspicious. Maybe Green Earth would risk an incursion to find out what it is Black Hole valued so much. Rest assured, they do have a huge army guarding this place, but they're keeping it hidden."

"What's in there?"

"More of those soldiers, for one thing. I've had my eye on this place for a while now. I was trying to take it out from the air today; it doesn't matter how much artillery they have covering this place, they can't hit a B-copter. Sadly, I was ambushed, and they deployed those troops after me."

"It's a training camp?"

"Possibly. After all, you're as likely to be right as me. Nonetheless, I think it's something a little more sinister than that. I can't prove it, but I believe that Black Hole created those troops in that laboratory. They're messing with genetics, I assume, though such things are too complicated for a mere pilot like myself. You saw those troops; how powerful they were. I imagine that, if Black Hole does ever launch a full invasion, and I suspect that it's only a matter of time, those troops will be the core of Black Hole's offensive power."

Phoenix glanced back at the tyre treads in the ground; Nestor was probably right about the forces hidden in the forest, and he could hardly doubt that those Black Hole troops that he had fought weren't human; he remembered the spray of black blood from his first target.

"But if this is a laboratory to create a Black Hole's most powerful new weapons, why is it here in Yellow Comet? Surely that's just exposing it to more danger?"

"I've noticed that too," replied Nestor, "It actually makes me more worried. Black Hole could just create these soldiers on her own soil, but they chose to build this base here. The only possible reason is that they feared what might happen. There is something in that building so powerful that Black Hole didn't dare create it on their own soil in case the project backfired. The answers to a lot of questions are inside that building."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to attack the base tonight, two hours after sunset."

"That's suicide," pointed out Phoenix matter-of-factly.

"Quite possibly, yes. However, I reckon that this place is built to beat back a full-scale military attack. A single saboteur has a far better chance. Of course," Nestor continued, turning his eyes from the base to Phoenix, "I'm not exactly experienced at saboteuring. In fact, I'm not even sure if saboteuring is a real word. Either way, Phoenix, I know you've done enough for me today, but I'd be honoured if you would join me tonight, unless, of course, you have somewhere more important to be."

"A chance to stop Black Hole?" said Phoenix coldly, "I'll help you."

Nestor hesitated for a moment, surprised at the bitterness in Phoenix's voice. After a pause, he nodded, wondering what lurked behind the boy's blue eyes.

"Thank you. Come on, we should get into position. I'll explain on the way."

The pair began to descend towards the laboratory…


End file.
